Is Your Cosmetic Surgeon Certified by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons?
Recent events and ongoing horror-stories about the risks of plastic surgery remind us that it is important to make sure our surgeon is certified to practice by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). After all, any doctor is allowed by law to call him or herself a plastic surgeon, but only the ABPS is capable of certifying that a doctor is qualified as a medical specialist. But how, exactly, does the ABPS certify its doctors? This article is a brief analysis of the standards that the ABPS uses to determine which candidates are worthy of certification. Prerequisites We are considering the steps for certifying a candidate that has already received a medical or osteopathic degree from an AMA-accredited institution in the United States or Canada. Remember, these people are already doctors, which means an undergraduate degree, medical school, residency, etc. For these doctors, a minimum of three years of clinical training in general s
