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What Board Certification in a Physician’s Specialty Means to Patients, Employers, and the Doctor’s Career

What Board Certification in a Physician’s Specialty Means to Patients, Employers, and the Doctor’s CareerA patient’s decision to consult a specialist is not something that’s taken lightly. It often comes after the patient has already visited a primary care physician and tried various treatments without success. Or, it’s a sober acknowledgment that the patient’s condition requires the care and attention of someone with specialized knowledge and skills. Patients visit specialists fully expecting them to have experience in treating specific conditions, whether it’s a torn shoulder ligament or gestational diabetes. Nonetheless, these visits can be fraught with anxiety.

That’s where physician board certification helps. While it’s true that an attentive doctor, backed by years of medical training, can do much to allay a patient’s uncertainty, board certification continues to be a reliable indicator of a doctor’s ability to deliver compassionate and expert medical care patients need. It serves as confirmation that a doctor is uniquely qualified in his or her specialty, instilling patients with confidence that they are in good hands.

Board certification also benefits the physician specialist’s employer. With certified specialists on staff, an organization can rightly declare to the public that it is committed to offering the highest standard of medical care. Thus, board-certified specialists lend their organizations prestige that allows them to stand out in today’s competitive healthcare marketplace.

Board Certification Rewards Talent and Dedication

Because earning board certification is no easy feat, only the most talented and dedicated specialists become certified. This means that certified specialists are considered leaders in their fields, and as a result, are more marketable to employers. Having demonstrated their expertise through a rigorous certification process, they also enjoy expanded opportunities for career advancement along with increased earning potential.

If you are a licensed physician who is considering becoming board certified in your specialty, the American Board of Physician Specialties® (ABPS) encourages you to apply to one of our Member Boards. We are a nationally recognized multi-specialty certifying body with countless Diplomates practicing across the United States. We offer certification in traditional fields like family medicine and dermatology as well as emerging specialties like integrative medicine and urgent care medicine. Other certification options include disaster medicine, family medicine obstetrics, and orthopedic surgery, just to name a few.

Facts About the ABPS

When considering your options for physician board certification, keep these facts about the ABPS in mind:

  • Our standards are rigorous: ABPS maintains exceptionally rigorous certification and recertification standards, in alignment with ABMS and AOA, ensuring the highest quality among medical professionals.
  • We maintain a clinical focus: ABPS Member Boards prioritize clinical knowledge over medical politics in their examinations, placing a strong emphasis on practical expertise.
  • We offer unique recertifications: The ABPS proudly stands as the only multi-specialty body that offers recertification to qualified diplomates of ABMS and AOA, underscoring its unwavering commitment to excellence.
  • We have earned widespread recognition: With Diplomates serving in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada, the ABPS enjoys extensive recognition and influence across a broad geographic area.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements of the ABPS?

The eligibility requirements of the ABPS differ from specialty to specialty, but all ABPS Member Boards share certain general eligibility requirements, including:

  • Being in conformity with the Code of Ethics of the ABPS, being known in the community as an ethical member of the profession, and being an active practitioner in the specialty for which you’re seeking certification
  • Having graduated from a recognized U.S., Canadian, or international allopathic or osteopathic college of medicine.
  • Holding a valid and unrestricted license(s) to practice medicine in the United States, U.S. territories, or Canada.

Contact the ABPS today to learn more about our boards or for information about our eligibility requirements. The ABPS is the official certifying body of the American Association of Physician Specialists (AAPS), Inc.

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Medical organizations throughout North America understand that our rigorous certification standards prove that ABPS Diplomates are capable of delivering the best patient care possible.

With declining access for maternity care amid rising maternal mortality, ABPS and their Board Certification in Family Medicine Obstetrics has been essential for me and many of my colleagues in getting privileges and thereby creating local access for mothers and their children.

Ashish Anand, MD, FAASOS
John B. Waits, MD
Family Medicine Obstetrics
Board certification through the American Board of Physician Specialties has served to substantiate my interest and additional training in several fields of medicine including Internal Medicine, Disaster Medicine, and Administrative Medicine. As a result, I have been able to serve my community in clinical, disaster response, and administrative medicine roles. Through the ABPS, I have become recognized as a leader in my various fields of interest.

Spencer Price MD, MPH, MBA
Administrative Medicine
In this era, when continuous updated medical knowledge means so much to you, when quality of emergency care matters most to you ,when you need to excel in your medical career to continue providing exceptional service to your critically ill patients, please consider board certification with the Boad of Certification in Emergency Medicine (BCEM). Where your knowledge & expertise translates to credentialing & certification with wider approval & recognition every day at many fronts. We Welcome you to join our team for a brighter future of our emergency healthcare where dedication to profession relies not solely on clinical practice but also on sound academic certification.

Ashish Anand, MD, FAASOS
Ashraf A. Gerges, MD, FAAEP
Emergency Medicine
Board certification in Orthopedic Surgery through the American Board of Physician Specialties validated my training and surgical experience through a process that was both rigorous and respectful of real-world practice. ABPS recognizes clinical competence, not just credentials, and that sets it apart.

Ashish Anand, MD, FAASOS
Ashish Anand, MD, FAASOS
Orthopedic Surgery
The American Board of Physician Specialties is a forward- thinking organization that focuses on where Medicine is going, not just where it has been. Traditional Certification Boards like Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, and Dermatology are represented as are Integrative Medicine, Disaster Medicine, and Family Medicine-Obstetrics. Physicians appreciate the ability to showcase their skills and knowledge through Board Certification, and this organization allows excellent physicians the ability to bring their skills to patients. The dedication and commitment of this organization and its volunteers will ensure ongoing distinction and commitment for decades to come.

Jeffrey B. Stricker, DO, MBA, FAASD
Jeffrey B. Stricker, DO, MBA, FAASD
Dermatology
Serving as a member on the American board of Integrative Medicine (ABOIM) for many years and now serving as a Member at Large of the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) has been an enriching and rewarding experience. The board’s commitment to excellence, integrity, and positive impact is truly inspiring. I am grateful to collaborate with such a dedicated and visionary group, and I am proud of the meaningful progress we continue to achieve together.

Arti Prasad, MD, FACP
Arti Prasad, MD, FACP
Integrative Medicine
There are many ways board certification advances a physician career. ABPS Board examination verifies your accuracy, precision, and reflects your mastery of your residency training verifying your expertise. ABPS Board certification demonstrates your level of expertise beyond your practice experience, primary education degrees, and training which are necessary for insurance reimbursement and practice privilege requirements. Attaining your ABPS Board Certification will clarify your purpose, secure your practice growth, and expand into leadership positions. Board certification can serve as an indication of a physician’s commitment to medicine, beyond the minimal standards and competency of training, their measurement to quality of care, and attaining an award for excellence.

Chris Kunis MD
Internal Medicine
When the American Board of Physician Specialties offered to host the American Board of Integrative Medicine, ABPS became a landmark organization working to move medicine into the twenty first century. Certifying physicians who have completed rigorous academic training in Integrative Medicine ensures that the field of Integrative Medicine will continue to develop academically, clinically, and professionally. The leadership of ABPS continues to impress me - they are diligent in constantly innovating to provide certifications for physicians who want to advance their careers and their areas of expertise. I am honored to be a part of this organization.

Ann Marie Chiasson, MD
Integrative Medicine
On October 18, 2007, President George W. Bush released Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 (HSPD-21), calling on our nation, among other initiatives, to “collectively support and facilitate the establishment of a discipline of disaster health”. It is a great testament to the wisdom and foresight of the American Board of Physician Specialties that it immediately set to work and created, within the short span of only one year, an educational blueprint and set of certification examinations, both written and oral, for a new subspecialty of disaster medicine—and it is why I chose to be part this vital initiative and this wonderful organization. This is but one of the many innovative programs initiated by the American Board of Physician Specialties over the years, and why I am proud to support its work on behalf of our nation’s public health.

Art Cooper, MD
Disaster Medicine
Far too often, medicine is led by less than 5% of non-practicing physicians taking away and replacing the voice of the 95% of physicians practicing and placing patient safety and care first on the front lines every day. The American Board of Physician Specialties has raised the standards in physician board certification not only in the quality of their boards of certification, but in hearing and allowing for the voice of those active physicians caring directly for patients. Having been a part of the ABPS over the last 28 years has allowed me to grow as a woman leader in a field often wrought with challenges. It helped me and others raise the bar of the standards of care in my specialty, Emergency Medicine, through their Board Certification in Emergency Medicine (BCEM). ABPS also helped raise the standards of care for 21st century medicine through their certifications in other specialties, particularly in Integrative Medicine & Disaster Medicine. Having physician voices heard matters to medicine and is essential in the betterment of patient safety and care.

Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Sarah E. Gilbert, MD, FAAEP
Emergency Medicine
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