Specialty Board Conversation

[Guest guest]

Marnae,

Thanks for your insight into this issue. It would be nice to hear

more about what a legit board and proper process would like, any

ideas?

 

Mike W. Bowser, LAc

 

 

> -

> marnaecrystal

> Chinese Medicine

> Friday, September 21, 2007 11:57 AM

> Specialty Board Conversation

>

>

> Let me begin by thanking everyone who has participated in the

> recent, sometimes heated, discussions of specialty boards in

general

> and ABORM in particular. It is great to see so many people with

> differing views expressing them and letting the community know

how

> you feel.

>

> In an attempt to focus this discussion away from individuals and

> specific boards and onto the general topics of specialty boards

in

> Oriental medicine and their role in the profession, beginning

> discussions have begun among a group of individuals who, very

> informally, are representing different constituencies. Last week,

> the first phone conference among this group was held. The group

> consisted of: Will Morris, past president of AAAOM, Leslie McGee,

> president of AAAOM, Bryn Clark, Chair of NCCAOM, Kory Ward-Cook,

CEO

> of NCCAOM, Ray Rubio, president of ABORM, Marnae Ergil and

Caroline

> Radice. At this time, this group has absolutely no official

status

> or mandate from any organization. It is just a group of people

> talking about an issue that has generated a great deal of

> conversation. As the discussions on the sites have been, our

> conversation was also heated at times. However, we were all able

to

> agree on several points: 1. We all need to keep talking. 2. The

> discussion must be focused on specialty boards in general and not

> specific boards. 3. We would like to see AAAOM and the NCCAOM

> create a coordinating group to organize a consensus conference on

> the topic. Members of the group should include representatives

from

> CCAOM, AAAOM, NCCAOM, the insurance industry and professional

> members. Potential topics for cooperative inquiry might include:

> Are specialty boards what the profession wants? What is a

specialty

> board for the field of OM? Certification or board certification

> definitions and more.

>

> I think that it is important to note again that while this is not

an

> official group, it is a group that came together because of the

> amount of discussion that has occurred on this topic in recent

> weeks. Again, I thank all of you who have participated in the

> conversation, and I hope that many of you have learned something

or

> thought about your own feelings as regards this conversation.

While

> I would encourage you to continue your conversation, I would like

to

> ask that that conversation move into a productive and positive

> position. Let's talk about what specialty boards are. Let's hear

> what you think about specialty boards in general. But, above all,

> let's keep it polite, supportive and about moving forward in a

> positive way rather than becoming personal, rude or

inappropriate.

> If you do not feel you can monitor your own comments, then, I

> suspect that group moderators will begin to monitor you. Keep the

> conversation positive so that we, as a profession, can move

forward

> in a direction that is good for all of us. We hope that in the

near

> future, the AAAOM will create a site where all of the

conversation

> about specialty boards can be housed, and we will ask the

moderators

> of the various groups to forward their conversations there at the

> appropriate time.

>

> Many of you recently gave your name or your money to support an

ad

> in Acupuncture Today in opposition to ABORM. This ad has just

come

> out. Unfortunately, the conversation that took place last week

> occurred too late to make any changes to the ad. Had we been able

> to, we would have liked to change the ad to be a more general

> opposition to specialty boards in acupuncture and Oriental

medicine,

> including, but not limited to the National Board of Acupuncture

> Orthopedics and the National Board of Internal Medicine. We

regret

> that the ad in AT focuses the discussion around ABORM and ask

that

> future discussion focus on the general topic of specialty boards,

> rather than any particular board.

>

> Thank you.

>

> Marnae

>

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