[Mrs. Robinson]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Right on the mark, as usual, DB. Clearly, some posters need to sit for a board exam to have even the slightest idea of what they are talking about. Yes, there are many boards that certify various specialties, but what does board certification in plastic surgery have to do with obstetrics? Would you want a plastic surgeon who passed the requirements for board certification via a teat written by and judged by obstetricians??? And besides the written test, you have to meet a whole list of qualifications before you can even take the test.

The true statement is that board certification does not guarantee a good physician. You cannot test judgement, or communication, or empathy. But every good physician needs a sound basis in the SCIENCE of medicine before they can excel at the ART of medicine. That's what board certification ensures

Okay -- let me ask you this: How does a written test ensure a plastic surgeon isn't going to botch up a face life or a nose job? Yeah -- exactly! Pardon me while I laugh, but does his test make him good??!?

Other than a doctor graduating from medical school and completing his residency, please give an example of a "whole list of qualifications" he must have before taking the test to be board certified.

Medicine is not an art; it is a practice.
Board certification does not ensure that a physician excels in a given medical field.
There are some pretty lousy doctors out there who are board certified, and yes -- some are good. It's a craps shoot.

Anyone who believes the only good doctors out there have to be board certified is sadly misinformed.