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A Recognized Choice for Physician Board Certification

Doctors working in a hospital office

The American Board of Physician Specialties® has 12 governing boards that oversee physician board certification. At the ABPS, we provide assistance to each Member Board with respect to developing and implementing professional standards designed to evaluate and certify the industry’s most talented physician specialists. Our organization has proudly become one of the most prestigious multispecialty physician board certifying bodies in the United States, along with the American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (AOABOS) and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).

The ABPS Maintains Rigorous Certification Standards

Since 1960, the ABPS has been committed first and foremost to enhancing patient care by creating rigorous certification and recertification programs that identify the most highly qualified professionals in the healthcare industry. Each ABPS Diplomate belongs to a collegial coalition of likeminded professionals who share the belief that the best way for the medical profession to move forward is for doctors to establish and maintain the highest ethical and clinical standards.

Board Certification Benefits Physicians, Medical Organizations, and Patients

Obtaining board certification through the ABPS has several distinct advantages – both for physicians and for their patients and employers alike. For example, partly due to the fact that the process is so rigorous, board certification is one of the medical profession’s most highly esteemed credentials. It is a stamp of validation indicating that a physician has successfully undergone years of challenging training and is conversant in all of the applicable specialty’s core concepts and clinical best practices. Also, though board certification isn’t a requirement to practice medicine, hospitals and other employers are increasingly demonstrating a preference for board-certified physicians in lieu of those who have no such credential. Insurance providers are exercising a louder voice as well with respect to who does – and who does not – get hired. But the biggest beneficiaries are the patients themselves. The board certification label empowers prospective patients to make more informed choices when it comes to deciding on a doctor to provide them care. Though board certification is just one of many important factors to consider, it is a highly reliable indicator of a physician’s ability to provide proper care in a professional manner.

Eligibility Requirements of the ABPS

The ABPS certified its first physician in 1960 and since then has certified and recertified physicians in a variety of specialties, including traditional specialties like family medicine and internal medicine to emerging fields such as integrative medicine and family medicine obstetrics. 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. International graduates must also hold a valid Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) Certificate.
  • Holding a valid and unrestricted license(s) to practice medicine in the United States, U.S. territories, or Canada.

Learn More About Physician Board Certification Through the ABPS

Click on this link to learn more about our individual Member Boards. We also invite you to learn more about the ABPS by reading this short brochure, which can be viewed online or downloaded. In addition, you may call the ABPS at 813-433-2277 or reach out to us electronically by completing and submitting our online contact form.

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Patient Care Is Our Priority

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

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
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
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
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 I think historically, advancement in medicine and patient safety and care has been driven by the diversity of people and scientific thought. That’s what I found at the ABPS and more. For over 60 years that is just who we are. I found a physician certifying body that provides a choice and voice to all physicians ensuring that patients are always placed first.

Jerry Allison, MD
Emergency Medicine
When I decided to pursue a full time role as a physician executive it was important to me to obtain additional professional training, education and work experience. Board certification through the ABPS in Administrative Medicine is validation of my efforts and a demonstration of dedication to professional development. We need more physicians to become full time health care executives, knowing there is a board certification option in Administrative Medicine encourages physicians to take the leap from full time clinical practice to healthcare organizational leadership.

Richard Paula, MD
Administrative Medicine
The American Board of Physician Specialties has provided me with the opportunity to demonstrate mastery of internal medicine through board certification. As a hospitalist, board certification is an expected credential, and hospitals recognize the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) as one of the three standard credentialling bodies for Internal Medicine. Additionally, the ABPS has helped me develop leadership skills as a Board member and Committee Chairperson. ABPS has also helped me sharpen critical thinking skills as a test question developer and reviewer. The Allopathic (MD) and Osteopathic (DO) physicians in the ABPS are lifelong learners and frequently pursue multiple board certifications. I enjoy the camaraderie of my peers in ABPS.

Loren Jay Chassels, DO
Internal Medicine
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