From: Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, orthopedic surgeons said podiatric surgeons had a "weak board certification" process. They used this rhetoric as they discussed what to do with "the podiatry problem" and keep us from hospital privileges. We cannot afford to create a backdoor to certification. If we manufacture an alternate, weaker route to certification, orthopedic surgeons will again chime in with the "weak board certification" chant, and rightfully so.
Rod Tomczak, DPM, MD, EdD, Columbus, OH
From: Ivar E. Roth, DPM, MPH
You would think that after a 3-year residency, one would acquire a good enough set of surgical skills to easily pass a board exam. Well, the reality is that unfortunately that is not an accurate statement. My son is a 4th year podiatric medical student, and he has related to me on some of his externship programs the level of surgical training is average to poor at some programs. I believe that there are many factors for not being able to pass these exams. One of the many reasons is that the program did not prepare the resident well enough or that the resident was not engaged and had a lackadaisical attitude.
I have been told that probably a full 25% of the podiatry classes are filled with not the best and brightest students. I believe to solve these problems we as a profession need to work harder to recruit better talent into our schools. Bottom line it is not the fault of the examiners it is the fault of the quality of the residents we are graduating.
Ivar E. Roth, DPM, MPH, Newport Beach, CA
From: Jon Purdy, DPM
Does the ABFAS have third-party oversite outside of podiatry? I do not know the answer to this, nor was it addressed in the letter. I do know the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery is partnered with the National Center for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and National Quality Foundation (NQF).
In our world, the American Board of Multiple Specialties in Podiatry (ABMSP) is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) under the ISO International Standards ANSI/ISO/IEC/17024:2003 for Accreditation for Bodies Operating Certification of Persons, as well as accredited by URAC (former Utilization Review Accreditation Commission).
Jon Purdy, DPM, New Iberia, LA
RE: ABFAS Open Letter to APMA Single Certifying Board Task Force
From: ABFAS Board of Directors
Editor's note: This unedited letter can be read here.
