American Board of Medical Specialties

Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is a non-profit organization which represent 24 broad areas of specialty medicine. ABMS is the largest physician-led specialty certification organization in the United States. ABMS Member Boards have maintained a rigorous process for the evaluation and Board certification of medical specialists, though none of the processes have been confirmed by independent third-party review. They certify specialists in more than 150 medical specialties and subspecialties. More than 80 percent of practicing physicians in the United States have achieved Board Certification by one or more of the ABMS Member Boards. The Member Boards support lifelong learning by physicians through the ABMS Maintenance of Certification (ABMS MOC) program. ABMS also collaborates with other professional medical organizations and agencies to set standards for graduate medical school education and accreditation of residency programs. ABMS makes information available to the public about the Board Certification of physicians and their participation in the ABMS MOC program. Since 1934, specialty boards were considered for membership in ABMS according to the standards set in the "Essentials for Approval of Examining Boards in Medical Specialties" created by ABMS and the American Medical Association Council on Medical Education (AMA/CME). In 1948, these efforts were formalized through the establishment of the Liaison Committee for Specialty Boards (LCSB), which is made up of representatives from ABMS and AMA/CME. Broadly stated, a medical specialty examining board must: represent a distinct and well-defined field of medical practice; solely offer a single standard of preparation for and evaluation of expertise; offer distinct training to meet certification requirements; demonstrate that candidates for certification will acquire, and then maintain, knowledge and skills in that field; establish defined standards for training and a system for evaluation of educational program quality; and demonstrate support from the relevant field of medical practice and broad professional support.