The Value Proposition of Board Certification

Originally Published in JOMS by Dr. Joseph Cillo

The internet is a vast landscape that allows anyone with an electronic device and internet connection to express their opinions. While this can be a good thing, not everything one reads may be pleasing or agreeable. Recently I read a Reddit post that boldly exclaimed that ‘‘Board Certification for ER docs is a scam’’.¹ Although not an ER physician myself, I have been part of and a strong supporter of the examination process of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS). I found this title provocative and felt compelled to pursue it, lest its aspersions reflect negatively upon our specialty. Among the author’s diatribes and arguments against board certification, they concluded that ‘‘it simply serves as another hurdle for us to jump just because they can make the hurdle. But that doesn’t mean we should continue to support some worthless exam just because it’s how it’s been done in the past. What a waste of time and money.’’¹ Similar concerns in oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMS) are not new, with similar sentiments having been expressed decades ago that the board certification process was ‘‘.... inconvenient and expensive...."² This has not changed significantly in recent times as some have considered that the board certification process ‘‘.... can be so time consuming, expensive, and for lack of a better term, grueling.’’³

Planting the seed that board certification, in general, and the ABOMS process, in particular, is a waste of time and money may grow, if left unattended, into a weed that stifles and robs valuable resources from flowering potential. Current ABOMS-eligible candidates have many challenges ahead of them, both professional and private. Mounting student debt and family concerns coupled with decreased reimbursement and time inconvenience of hospital-based procedures may steer some from the process of board certification to lucrative office-based careers where board certification might not be required or even desired.

It is true that the board certification process is time consuming, can be expensive, and, yes, it can be grueling. However, to paraphrase Theodore Roosevelt, ‘‘nothing worth doing comes easy.’’⁴ Research has shown that failure to obtain board certification was associated with a higher rate of medical malpractice payments, linking board certification to potential indicators for patient outcomes and practice quality.⁵

We do the things that are hard because they are worth doing and culminate in valuable results. Thus, board certification is a worthy value proposition that solidifies the message of our talents to our community and patients.

Underlying the value proposition of OMS board certification is a promise to our patients that, as opposed to similar options from providers who offer comparable procedures, our services are benchmarked to the highest standards of quality and skill. Board certification in OMS is a process that demonstrates a high level of expertise and provides a variety of benefits to both our patients and us. It can instill confidence in our patients that, as professionals, we have undergone rigorous peer assessments and have followed the principles and ethical standards established by our specialty board. When we look at ourselves as professionals, board certification and maintenance can help identify knowledge gaps and refocus our learning while providing the tools to help make informed clinical decisions.

The path and history of our hard work in board certification and maintenance has helped, in no small part, make the specialty of OMS into the entity that it is: a specialty that is respected and trusted for its commitment to continuous self-improvement and unceasing enhancement in quality patient care and safety. I continue to encourage those who may have veered from the path of board certification to reconsider and those in the process of obtaining or maintaining board certification to continue the hard path. The value proposition that board certification demonstrates a high level of expertise and commitment to quality care is one that is worth achieving. Worthy enough, at least, for an internet post.

Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
© 2026 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons.