Dirty
Little Secret About Some Doctors Who Perform Plastic
Surgery
Any licensed doctor, can perform plastic surgery even
though they have not received extensive, specialize
training to do so. It is even legal in Virginia for oral
surgeons to perform facelifts, eyelid surgery, and more.
There are doctors who have only recently begun to offer
their patients cosmetic procedures, and they don’t have
to obtain surgical privileges at a quality hospital to
do so.
To obtain the results you’re looking for, Patients are
advised to find a doctor who is certified by the
American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS), the only board
recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties
to certify a surgeon in plastic surgery of the face and
of the entire body.
Certification by the ABPS is "the
gold standard" for plastic surgeons because it signifies
that the surgeon has had formal, specialized, training
in an accredited plastic surgery residency program.
When you’re talking to an ABPS Board Certified surgeon
you’re talking to a doctor who is exhaustively trained
in technique, patient care and patient safety.
A Doctor
who is ABPS Board certified has at least 5 years of
surgical training, additional, specialized, training in
plastic surgery, has passed a rigorous 2 day written
examination and a separate 2 day oral examination, an
examination only held once a year and so rigorous that
nearly 20% of the doctors taking the exam, FAIL.
Q: How does a doctor become Board Certified?
By choosing a plastic surgeon who is certified by The
American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc., you can be
assured that the doctor has graduated from an accredited
medical school and has completed at least five years of
additional training as a resident surgeon.
This includes
a minimum three-year residency in an accredited general
surgery program and a minimum two-year residency in
plastic surgery. To become certified, the doctor then
must successfully complete comprehensive written and
oral exams. Board Certification is a voluntary process.
Q. Why is The American Board of Plastic Surgery
different from other plastic surgery (or cosmetic
surgery) Boards?
ABPS is one of the 24 specialty boards recognized by the
American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). It is the
only ABMS Board that certifies in the full spectrum of
the entire specialty of plastic surgery.
Q. What is the difference between membership in a
society, association, academy and being a Diplomate of
ABPS?
The ABPS Diplomate is a certified physician who has met
the requirements outlined above. The mission of The
American Board of Plastic Surgery, Inc. is to promote
safe, ethical, efficacious plastic surgery to the public
by maintaining high standards for the examination and
certification of plastic surgeons as specialists and sub
specialists.
Societies are professional associations.
The specific society, association or academy should be
contacted for specific membership requirements and
mission.
Q. Define accreditation and certification, and
licensure.
Licensure is designed as minimum standard necessary to
practice medicine. It is a public function, administered
by the states, the standards are established through a
public process and all actions taken - both in granting
a license and in restricting or withdrawing a license -
are matters of public record.
Licensure is not specialty
specific and permits an individual to provide to the
public any medical or surgical service he/she desires.
Certification by a specialty Board attests to 1)
completion of a prescribed set of education and training
requirements in a specialty of medicine beyond the
minimum requirements for licensure, and 2) passage of
examination that test the fund of knowledge in that
specialty.
Most specialties now also require periodic
recertification, which generally requires completion of
specified continuing education and successful completion
of a further examination testing the fund of knowledge
in that specialty. Many health care organizations and
health plans now require certification in order to
provide services in the relevant specialty area.
Board-certified physicians govern specialty Boards in
that specialty.
Accreditation is awarded to licensed physicians who have
conducted their professional activities in accordance
with standards set to define quality in professional
practice.
These standards include ethical behavior;
absence of disciplinary actions by hospitals, licensing
agencies, or financing programs; participation in peer
review; participation in clinical self-assessment;
operation of a safe, patient-centered practice that
meets criteria for quality; and participation in
measurement of clinical performance and patient care
results, including patient satisfaction. Accreditation
is not specialty specific.
Accreditation reports include
information on the physician's license status and
specialty board certification. The American Medical
Accreditation Program can be contacted for more
information. Plastic surgeons who are certified by the
American Board of Plastic Surgery and who are members of
the American Society of Plastic Surgeons have undergone
rigorous training and have been evaluated by their peers
on their practice of plastic surgery, from both the
technical and ethical perspectives.
Board certified
plastic surgeons should be eligible for consideration to
perform the above procedures by virtue of their plastic
surgery training and certification process. Continuing
Medical Education is an important component of clinical
competence for surgeons. Members of the American Society
of Plastic Surgeons are required to obtain 150 hours of
continuing medical; education within a 3 year period. A
minimum of 50 out of the 150 hours must be specific to
the practice of plastic surgery.
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