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Rand Paul claims to be board certified Ophthalmologist, well he is board certified, by a board he created, not by the American Medical Association.
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U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul says he is a "board-certified" ophthalmologist -- even though the national clearinghouse for such certifications says he hasn't been for the past five years.
Rand Paul, who practices in Bowling Green, says he is certified by the National Board of Ophthalmology, a group that he incorporated in 1999 and that he heads.
But that entity is not recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties, which works with the American Medical Association to approve such specialty boards.
I know some doctors right now that do not belong to the AMA as they consider it to be the same as a union for doctors and they do not approve of unions.
How does that compare to the 29 percent of doctors who are members of the AMA, even as Nancy Pelosi trotted out in front of the cameras to proclaim that Obamacare had the full support of the AMA - as if that were the Mother of All Endorsements?
I'm not sure how it compares. But from my vantage point, 29 percent means diddly squat and completely eroded my faith in the Association as an arbiter of good principles. Therefore I don't give a rip what they say now regarding Rand Paul.
Medical professions often have many different accrediting, certification, and licensing bodies. For my profession, we can get certification from two different national organizations (or neither), but we must be licensed in our state to practice in my field. Most states mirror their licensing requirements after the certification requirements, but certification itself is optional. Some employers require it, but it's really not necessary. Rand Paul apparently did hold board certification through the National Board of Opthamologists which means he met the educational and professional requirements through that organization. He let that certification lapse, meaning he didn't pay his annual dues. There is really nothing outrageous about this. The only thing that really matters is that he is licensed to practice in his state (if he is practicing still).
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The specialties board recognizes the American Board of Ophthalmology, the nation's main ophthalmological certification group. Paul had certification from that organization before he let it lapse after he started his National Board of Ophthalmology.
Switching from one accrediting agency to another (even if he started it himself) is not unheard of in the medical field. People do it in my field all the time. Being recognized by the AMA is kind of meaningless. Only 20% of physicians are even members of the AMA, so it's kind of irrelevant.
The AMA is a professional organization and does not "certify" physicians. There are many medical certification boards in this country that are independent of the AMA and the American Board of Medical Specialties. Only about 22% of physicians in the US are members of the AMA. Membership is strictly voluntary and many physicians shun membership. The AMA exists today as much as a political lobby as anything else. It has enormous influence, along with Big Pharma, in both Congress and the FDA and their goal is to protect their interests.
Being a member of the AMA has nothing to do with it.
The American Board of Medical Specialties is an independent organization that certifies medical specialists based on known, rigorous education, training, and testing requirements.
And the certification standards for Rand Paul's group? Well, who knows? At a minimum, it appears that they don't require periodic recertification.
Who cares? Are you planning on seeing him for an eye exam?
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Your thread title is misleading......
