About Board Certification

 

The most important step in preparing for your procedure is choosing your physician. The search for a good plastic surgeon can be a long and frustrating process. When selecting your surgeon be sure to ask if he/she is certified by The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). Physicians who are certified by the ABPS are dedicated to the highest standards of patient care and continuing development of professional skills and competence.

 

What does "Board Certification in Plastic Surgery" mean?

 

By choosing a plastic surgeon who is board certified by The ABPS, you can be assured that the doctor has graduated from an accredited medical school and has completed at least five years of additional training as a resident surgeon. This includes a minimum three-year residency in an accredited general surgery program with a minimum two-year residency in plastic surgery. In addition to this vigorous training, each candidate for certification must successfully complete comprehensive written and oral exams.

 

Many qualities are necessary to be a competent physician. The mission of The American Board of Plastic Surgery is to promote safe, ethical, efficacious plastic surgery to the public by maintaining high standards for the education, examinations, certification and re-certification of plastic surgeons.

 

ABPS is one of the 24 specialty boards recognized by The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). It is the only ABMS board which certifies in the full spectrum of the entire specialty of plastic surgery. The ABMS provides the general public, free of charge, two different ways to verify board certification.

You can call ABMS at 866-ASK-ABMS or visit www.abms.org

 

About the American College of Surgeons

 

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) is a prestigious organization. Members of the American College of Surgeons are referred to as "Fellows." The letters FACS (Fellow, American College of Surgeons) after a surgeon's name mean that the surgeon's education and training, professional qualifications, surgical competence, and ethical conduct have passed a rigorous evaluation, and have been found to be consistent with the high standards established and demanded by the College. In order to be a Fellow of the ACS, a surgeon must be certified in his/her specialty, have practiced a minimum of one-year after the board certification, and passed a review of clinical work, academic work, and ethics in running their practice.

 

This is yet another extensive and tedious review of a surgeon's experience and ethics, aimed at assuring a potential patient that the surgeon they have chosen has been well-trained and deemed competent by his or her peers. If the surgeon displays the initials FACS after his or her name, that denotes that they have been designated a Fellow of The American College of Surgeons, and completed the above process.

 

For more information on The American College of Surgeons, please call toll free at 800-621-4111 or visit their website at www.FACS.org