ABMS Announces Certification in Three New Physician Subspecialties: Pediatric Anesthesiology, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology

CHICAGO – April 18, 2011 – The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) announces the creation of physician certification in three new subspecialties: Pediatric Anesthesiology, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology. The ABMS Board of Directors and Assembly Representatives approved the three subspecialties at its March 22-23 meetings in Washington, DC. Pediatric Anesthesiology will be administered by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery jointly by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) and the American Board of Urology (ABU) and Complex General Surgical Oncology by the American Board of Surgery (ABS).

The addition of Pediatric Anesthesiology, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery and Complex General Surgical Oncology brings the number of specialty and subspecialty certificates to 152 offered through the 24 ABMS Member Boards. Physicians interested in being certified in these emerging fields must have received primary certification by one of the Member Boards.

“The mission of ABMS and the Member Boards has always been directed to the public interest. Achieving the best possible assurance of high-quality health care is a goal shared by everyone. With ongoing advances in medicine, the addition of these new subspecialties will enable patients to receive the highest quality care from the most qualified specialists,” said Kevin B. Weiss, MD, ABMS President and CEO.

To earn and maintain their certification in the three new subspecialties, physicians must commit to participation in the ABMS Maintenance of Certification® (ABMS MOC®) program created by ABMS and its 24 Member Boards to promote lifelong learning and self assessment for physician specialists. The Board of Directors and Assembly Representatives also approved a proposal by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) to develop a demonstration pilot program on focused practice in Cardiac Computed Tomography (Cardiac CT). This comes on the heels of the Board of Directors, at its January 2011 Board Meeting and Retreat, giving ABR approval to proceed in developing a demonstration pilot program on focused practice in brachytherapy. The program, which will improve patient safety, quality and education, is now in its developmental stage and will take a minimum of one year to implement.

The Board of Directors and Assembly Representatives also approved the following at its March meetings:

• A request by the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) to join as a cosponsor of a subspecialty certificate in Sleep Medicine
  
  
• The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery's (ABOS) request for a name change of a subspecialty certificate in Added Qualifications in Surgery of the Hand
  
  
• A request by ABR for name changes of the following certificates: Therapeutic Medical Physics (replacing Therapeutic Radiologic Physics); Diagnostic Medical Physics (replacing Diagnostic Radiologic Physics) and Nuclear Medical Physics (replacing Medical Nuclear Physics)
  
  
• The American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation's (ABPMR) request for a one-time extension (through the 2013 Sports Medicine exam date) of the temporary criteria for admissibility to the Sports Medicine subspecialty examination

An updated list of all the specialties and subspecialties can be found at www.abms.org.

About ABMS
For more than 75 years, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has been the medical organization overseeing physician certification in the United States. It assists its 24 Member Boards in their efforts to develop and implement educational and professional standards for the evaluation and certification of physician specialists. ABMS Member Boards provide physician certification information to ABMS for its certification verification service programs. ABMS is recognized by the key health care credentialing accreditation entities as a primary equivalent source of Board Certification data for medical specialists. Patients can visit www.CertificationMatters.org or call toll-free (866) ASK-ABMS to see if their physician is Board Certified by an ABMS Member Board. For more information about ABMS, visit www.abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.

The 24 Member Boards that make up the ABMS Board Enterprise and cover more than 150 medical specialties and subspecialties include the: American Board of Allergy and Immunology, American Board of Anesthesiology, American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, American Board of Dermatology, American Board of Emergency Medicine, American Board of Family Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Medical Genetics, American Board of Neurological Surgery, American Board of Nuclear Medicine, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Board of Ophthalmology, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, American Board of Otolaryngology, American Board of Pathology, American Board of Pediatrics, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Board of Plastic Surgery, American Board of Preventive Medicine, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, American Board of Radiology, American Board of Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery and American Board of Urology.