Response
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Shannon C. Scott
My colleague, Mark L. Shatsky, DO, has made several points that highlight related findings in our study (J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2009;109:302-311). He describes from personal experience his frustrations with the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) board certification process, noting multiple barriers in the process, including communication problems. He also argues that these barriers, some of which were described at length in our article, continue to be encountered by osteopathic physicians several years after completing their Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited residency programs. Dr Shatsky represents a certain population of DOs who were trained in ACGME-accredited residency programs but who remain interested in also obtaining AOA board certification—or even in changing their board certification from the ACGME to the AOA.
Our study did not survey postresidency DOs who were trained in ACGME-accredited programs. However—as implied by Dr Shatsky—there is no reason to expect an improvement in experience with, or opinion of, the AOA board certification process among DOs who are out of residency compared with those who are still in residency. In fact, these postresidency ACGME-trained DOs may feel even more separated from the osteopathic medical community, leaving them frustrated at the multiple barriers to access the return pathway for AOA board certification. Obtaining AOA board certification may be more important for practicing DOs than for DOs newly out of postgraduate training, because this certification may be practicing DOs' only link to ongoing competency assessment and important developments in osteopathic medicine. Our study supports Dr Shatsky's call for leaders of the osteopathic medical profession to recruit, communicate with, and conduct research on DOs both during and after their ACGME-accredited training.
Dr Shatsky has made some compelling recommendations regarding areas of focus for future research. We agree that there may be financial disincentives for osteopathic physicians to take both the AOA and ACGME boards. For any DO considering taking one or both boards, these financial disincentives include the need to take time off from work, to pay for and travel to two examination locations, and to meet the continuing medical education (CME) requirements for both organizations. We further agree that DOs in ACGME-accredited residency programs and postresidency ACGME-trained DOs experience communication barriers within the AOA.
We would like to thank Dr Shatsky for highlighting the problems that postresidency ACGME-trained DOs are experiencing in the AOA board certification process, in CME, and in involvement with the osteopathic medical community. We look forward to the efforts of leaders of our profession to foster improved communication regarding these issues.
The American Osteopathic Association
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Articles in the same Issue
- LETTERS
- Measuring Awareness, Interest, and Involvement in the Osteopathic Community Through Board Certification
- Response
- BOOK REVIEWS
- Medical Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse: A Practical Guide
- ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS
- Total Hip Arthroplasty: Comparison of Two-Incision and Standard Techniques at an AOA-Accredited Community Hospital
- CASE REPORTS
- Pathophysiologic Mechanisms, Diagnosis, and Management of Dapsone-Induced Methemoglobinemia
- Piecing Together a Picture of Trisomy 8 Mosaicism Syndrome
- STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS
- SOMA Abstracts in 2009 Student Poster Competition
- LETTERS
- The DO Difference: An Analysis of Causal Relationships Affecting the Degree-Change Debate
- Response
- SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS
- JAOA Peer Reviewers, 2009
Articles in the same Issue
- LETTERS
- Measuring Awareness, Interest, and Involvement in the Osteopathic Community Through Board Certification
- Response
- BOOK REVIEWS
- Medical Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse: A Practical Guide
- ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS
- Total Hip Arthroplasty: Comparison of Two-Incision and Standard Techniques at an AOA-Accredited Community Hospital
- CASE REPORTS
- Pathophysiologic Mechanisms, Diagnosis, and Management of Dapsone-Induced Methemoglobinemia
- Piecing Together a Picture of Trisomy 8 Mosaicism Syndrome
- STUDENT CONTRIBUTIONS
- SOMA Abstracts in 2009 Student Poster Competition
- LETTERS
- The DO Difference: An Analysis of Causal Relationships Affecting the Degree-Change Debate
- Response
- SPECIAL COMMUNICATIONS
- JAOA Peer Reviewers, 2009
