Specialty Board Conversation

[Guest guest]

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