As the significance of the Advisory Board increased it became more important that it function actively and efficiently in pursuing its objectives to advance the standards of the medical profession and to provide assurance that only those physicians will be certified who are qualified as specialists in the various branches of medicine and surgery.

From 1933 to 1970, the Advisory Board for Medical Specialties operated as a federation of individual specialty boards. It functioned primarily as a forum for discussion without the benefit of a full-time director or a central office from which to conduct its daily operations. The idea of creating a more permanent organization and staff began at a 1949 conference. However, it wasn’t until the late 1950s that a central hub for activities was created. A permanent full-time staff and office location was only first established in 1970.

During the 1950s, the importance of the Advisory Board had increased and certification by the approved boards had come to be clearly recognized as having great significance and it was essential that the organization function actively and efficiently in pursuing its objectives.

The advances in medicine produced growing complexities in medical education and specialty training. This was reflected in the continued increase in the number of specialties and subspecialties wishing to set up certifying boards. There were also numerous requests for recognition by the Advisory Board. Many important issues of the day were brought to the Advisory Board for discussion such as:

• The pyramidal versus the vertical type of residency training
• The effect of the national emergency (Korean conflict) on eligibility requirements for board certification
• Standards for approval for residency training programs
• Admission of graduates of foreign medical schools to residency training and certification
• One and two year residencies
• Preceptor training in lieu of residency training
• A sound program for graduate training in non-university hospitals
• Current trends in examination procedures
• Problems in residency training for graduates of medical schools outside the U.S. and Canada

These areas as well as the keeping pace with day-to-day operations multiplied the duties and responsibilities of the Advisory Board.

Byrl R. Kirklin, MD

For more than ten years, managing the activities of the Advisory Board was carried on informally by B.R. Kirklin, MD. Upon his unexpected death in 1957, Louis A. Buie, MD took on the responsibility. That same year, he was formally installed as the first paid part-time Secretary-Treasurer.

Dr. Buie’s influence had immense impact on the organization of the Advisory Board. He led the first revision of the constitution and bylaws since 1933, establishing greater authority for the organization. In 1961, he drafted the first articles of incorporation approved in March of that year. Part of the incorporation process included the development of a logo mark to represent and distinguish it from other examining boards of “questionable need or spurious origin." The logo, approved by the United States Patent Office in 1961, was developed as a collective mark that physicians certified by the specialty boards could use for identification. The Advisory Board would also use it to further its purposes by making it less likely that “non-approved boards would achieve acceptance by unwitting members of the medical profession.”

Louis A. Buie, MD

Throughout the 1960s, Dr. Buie worked tirelessly with the Member Boards to gain better understanding of their situation and issues, creating a spirit of cooperation. Of primary concern were the continued problems of foreign medical graduates and graduate medical education, especially with relation to internship and residency programs.

Out of these discussions came a series of suggestions by John C. Nunemaker, MD aimed at giving the Advisory Board some authority within the relationships of the specialty boards to each other and to the profession. He believed that the Advisory Board should be reconstituted to better characterize its function relative to its expanding program and new responsibilities. The success of the new Advisory Board, he contended, would be based on the establishment of uniform policies, standards, procedures, programs, fees, etc. that the Member Boards could help develop. As a more cohesive organization, the Advisory Board would therefore be in a stronger position to develop appropriate liaison relationship with other national groups.

Primary suggestions made by Dr. Nunemaker included:

1. Creating two types of membership. One would be full membership and the other, associate membership which could be held by many more organizations. He said that the associate members could make a real contribution to the Advisory Board without having the same voting weight as the specialty boards.
2. Establishing a general office with a full-time staff. To provide efficient and prompt management of current and new activities, office space, facilities, equipment and clerical help will have to be increased. The services of a capable executive secretary will be needed.
3. Centralization of data and records pertaining to diplomate certification.
4. Determining the focus for standing committees particularly in the areas of examination administration, research and examination procedures, assessment of diplomate performance in practice and other areas.

By 1969, all efforts for an effective reorganization of the Advisory Board had been discussed and instituted and a formal funding mechanism established on the basis of a dues system and assessment for each diplomate certified by a board.

Promotional brochures for ABMS in the 1970s.

With this work the completed, the decision was made by the Member Boards in 1970 to formally reorganize the Advisory Board and hire a full-time staff to better serve its constituency and the public. On February 13, the decision became official with the renaming of the Advisory Board as the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). The name change came out of the position paper presented to the Advisory Board by Dr. Nunemaker. This name change became official with the amendment of the Articles of Incorporation on April 10, 1970.

In July 1970, Louis A. Buie, MD retired and John C. Nunemaker, MD became the first full-time Executive Director. An official headquarters was established in Evanston, Illinois. The rest of the staff included Miss Clarice Johnson as administrative assistant and Mrs. Genevieve Conway as secretary. At his induction, Dr. Nunemaker presented ABMS with a gavel made from wood of a sycamore tree removed from Evanston Hospital grounds in Evanston, Illinois when the new auditorium and library were being constructed. The sycamore tree is considered to be closely linked with Hippocrates and his teaching methods and therefore, the gavel serves to relate the American Board of Medical Specialties to Hippocratic tradition. It continues to be used as the ceremonial gavel when welcoming each new chair of the ABMS Board of Directors.

John C. Nunemaker, MD

The reorganization of the Advisory Board for Medical Specialties into the American Board of Medical Specialties in 1970 marked a significant change in the structure and function of specialty boards. The separate boards appreciated the need for a strong central agency to deal with matters that were common to all specialty boards and to represent the boards to other agencies and the public.

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The information for this history has been compiled by ABMS staff through an examination of ABMS' records and documents. As with all historical reporting, the information we've provided is based on our understanding and interpretation of these records. If you find any factual inaccuracies, please advise us by contacting the Director of Marketing and Communications at (312) 436-2626.