So much in medicine just feels like pay gates. Before med school I was a nurse in the army and tjat was packed with CEUs and recerts, but going to med school and beyond made ke realize how many little pay gates there are, especially very early on when unless you come from a stable financial background it can be a HUGE barrier to even starting down the path. And then the entire time its just this or that organization taking $200-1300 at a time. And thats not even looking at professional organizations taking millions from members, and doing minor stuff with it... it just seemsnlike as soon as you step into med school every month a new drain gets plugged into your bank account along with all the others just draining. Money isnt as big of an issue after residency but its not any less annoying.
Ultimately there’s no clear evidence that draws a straight line from all of our training to patient outcomes. It’s obvious that training improves outcomes, but how much and what kind? And what’s the cost of this training relative to the benefit?
MOC is a program designed to improve the quality of physicians above and beyond the minimum set standards however "improved quality" in itself does not have a concrete definition. I believe improving quality of health care is important, however requiring board certified physicians to constantly undergo examinations to prove a level of knowledge only serves to create a bureaucracy and does not necessarily lead to improved outcomes for patients. Another alternative solution to the goal of improving the quality of healthcare is to gradually and overtime increase the minimum standards of safe and effective practice legislated by ABIM to maintain certification, this would be enforceable and in fact lead to better and safer practice if legislated carefully. However as simple and straight forward as this solution is, there is little chance of it being implemented because the complicated and bureaucratic solution is what generates revenue.
So much in medicine just feels like pay gates. Before med school I was a nurse in the army and tjat was packed with CEUs and recerts, but going to med school and beyond made ke realize how many little pay gates there are, especially very early on when unless you come from a stable financial background it can be a HUGE barrier to even starting down the path. And then the entire time its just this or that organization taking $200-1300 at a time. And thats not even looking at professional organizations taking millions from members, and doing minor stuff with it... it just seemsnlike as soon as you step into med school every month a new drain gets plugged into your bank account along with all the others just draining. Money isnt as big of an issue after residency but its not any less annoying.
Ultimately there’s no clear evidence that draws a straight line from all of our training to patient outcomes.
It’s obvious that training improves outcomes, but how much and what kind? And what’s the cost of this training relative to the benefit?
Why do we have a non-physician on the board of the American Board of Medical Specialties?
MOC is a program designed to improve the quality of physicians above and beyond the minimum set standards however "improved quality" in itself does not have a concrete definition. I believe improving quality of health care is important, however requiring board certified physicians to constantly undergo examinations to prove a level of knowledge only serves to create a bureaucracy and does not necessarily lead to improved outcomes for patients. Another alternative solution to the goal of improving the quality of healthcare is to gradually and overtime increase the minimum standards of safe and effective practice legislated by ABIM to maintain certification, this would be enforceable and in fact lead to better and safer practice if legislated carefully. However as simple and straight forward as this solution is, there is little chance of it being implemented because the complicated and bureaucratic solution is what generates revenue.