Board certification

Board certification is the process by which a physician, veterinarian, or other professional demonstrates a mastery of advanced knowledge and skills through written, oral, practical, or simulator-based testing.

There are more than 25 boards that certify physician specialists in the United States. Although there is no legal requirement for a physician to attain it, some hospitals may demand that physicians be board certified to receive privileges.

The commonly used acronym BE/BC (board eligible/board certified) refers to a doctor who is eligible or is certified to practice medicine in a particular field.

The term board certified is also used in the nursing field, where a candidate with advanced mastery of a nursing specialty can also become eligible to be Board Certified. Board certification is also used in the field of pharmacy, where a pharmacist can be recognized in specialized areas of advanced pharmacy practice after fulfilling eligibility requirements and passing a certification examination by the Board of Pharmacy Specialties or the National Board of Medication Therapy Management. Doctoral level psychologists (Ph.D., or Psy.D.) may also be board certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology, or the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology or the American Board of Pediatric Neuropsychology.

The FDA encourages board certification of all toxicologists who work in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, especially of those who oversee preclinical product safety studies. The American Board of Toxicology is the oldest and largest certification body in the world to ensure the competency of toxicologists involved in preclinical drug discovery.

Board certification is available to a licensed attorney (J.D.) in the United States as well, although it generally is not considered a form of licensure and usually does not confer additional privileges of any kind. Many state bar associations, including Arizona, California, Florida, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, offer board certification in various specialty areas, such as admiralty law, civil trial law, estate planning (or wills, trusts, and estates) law, family (and/or marital) law, immigration law, and tax law. Other organizations also offer certification, with some being accredited by the American Bar Association. The American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Specialization offers extensive resources to attorneys and consumers.

At least one state allows board certified attorneys to use an acronym similar to board certified doctors: The Florida Bar allows its certified attorneys to use the acronym B.C.S. to identify themselves as a "Board Certified Specialist" and prohibits attorneys not holding board certification from identifying themselves as "experts" or "specialists" (though a non-certified attorney may advertise that he or she "specializes" in one or more areas).

The core body of knowledge that defines an area of medical specialization is referred to as the core competencies for that specialty. Core competencies are developed through detailed review of the medical literature combined with review by recognized experts from established medical specialties, experts within the new area of specialization and experts from outside the medical profession. This list of core knowledge and skills is then compiled into a draft core competency document.