Anesthesiologists and other physicians are worried that stricter requirements for maintaining board certification may influence requirements for maintaining state licensure, making voluntary efforts mandatory for practicing medicine, according to an Anesthesiology News report.
According to the report, physicians who earned board certification in the last 10 years must pass a closed-book examination, provide medical practice performance evaluations and earn CME credits in order to maintain certification. Enacted in 2000, these requirements have met with mixed reviews: Supports say the process keeps physician knowledge up-to-date, while critics say the testing methodology forces physicians to spend unnecessary time and money studying for tests outside their area of clinical practice.
According to the report, the Federation of State Medical Boards enacted new requirements for physicians to maintain licensure in April 2010. The new framework would require physicians to pass knowledge and skills test and demonstrate performance standards using patient data, rather than the current requirements of updating information about certification, training and malpractice claims.
The FSMB will initiate pilot projects with 11 state medical boards to test various approaches to licensure maintenance, and new standards will be enacted following that trial period.
Physicians are concerned that multiple certification and licensure examinations could waste physician time and money without improving patient care.
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According to the report, physicians who earned board certification in the last 10 years must pass a closed-book examination, provide medical practice performance evaluations and earn CME credits in order to maintain certification. Enacted in 2000, these requirements have met with mixed reviews: Supports say the process keeps physician knowledge up-to-date, while critics say the testing methodology forces physicians to spend unnecessary time and money studying for tests outside their area of clinical practice.
According to the report, the Federation of State Medical Boards enacted new requirements for physicians to maintain licensure in April 2010. The new framework would require physicians to pass knowledge and skills test and demonstrate performance standards using patient data, rather than the current requirements of updating information about certification, training and malpractice claims.
The FSMB will initiate pilot projects with 11 state medical boards to test various approaches to licensure maintenance, and new standards will be enacted following that trial period.
Physicians are concerned that multiple certification and licensure examinations could waste physician time and money without improving patient care.
Related Articles on Anesthesia:
Washington Surgeon Suspended Over Patient Death From Anesthetic
University of Virginia's Pain Center Continues Pioneering Tradition
Anesthesiologist Dr. David Dugan Joins Board of Kansas' Providence Medical Center