08/12/2020    Lawrence Oloff, DPM

Questions to the ABPM BOD (Martin M, Pressman, DPM)

This subject seems to have a cycle and I guess
it's that time again. I think it is interesting
that we want to be treated with respect and
parity by the allopathic medical community, yet
we don’t want to be held to those same
standards. I am not sure what it is like in
your communities, but in mine orthopedic
surgeons are required to be board certified to
have surgical privileges. Hospitals realize
that surgeons (podiatric and otherwise) are not
going to be board certified when they complete
their residencies. They grant a reasonable time
period for recent graduates to obtain board
certification status. Not that long ago, one of
the orthopedists, at one of the hospitals I
work at, was unable to pass their exam after
several years. His surgical privileges were
then revoked. Too strict? Maybe, but their
rules.

The specifics of what privileges are granted is
up to the hospital and is vetted by applicant
surgeons submitting supporting documentation of
their surgical experiences. I imagine we have
all gone through much the same process, the
same process as our allopathic colleagues.
Surgical privileges in the allopathic world
means surgery board certification.

Maybe this isn’t the whole story with podiatry.
We have the messy environment of different
state laws. Some argue that our surgery board
pass rate is less than that orthopedics. I am
not saying that these issues are not important.
The battle for state privileges will continue
to go on until every state is the same. The
arguments about our surgery board pass rate may
require further discussion by our community.
However, the allopathic environment remains the
same. Hospitals are allopathic medical
environments. You want to function fully in
that world and be considered true members of
that team, then we need to play by the same
rules.

Lawrence Oloff, DPM, Burlingame, CA

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