In the Public Trust

129 Pages·2009·5.79 MB·English

In the Public Trust
Charles Hazzard, DO
First President of the National Board
In the Public Trust:
The National Board of
Osteopathic Medical
Examiners 1934-2009
Betty Burnett, PhD
Copyright 2010©National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in an
electronic retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic,
mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior permission of the
National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners, Chicago, Illinois.
www.nbome.org
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
CONTENTS
National Board
of Osteopathic
Medical Examiners
Foreword vii
History 1
The Examinations 53
NBOME: The People 75
Appendix 99
Fredrick G. Meoli, DO, FACOS
First Full-Time President and CEO of the NBOME
2002-2009; President of the NBOME, 1999-2001
Foreword
T
here is something sacred about the relationship between physician
and patient. The basis of the relationship lies in the implicit trust
placed in the physician by the patient. That trust stems from the be-
lief that the physician is competent to practice medicine, and thus the
public has come to inherently rely on jurisdictional regulatory agencies,
licensing examinations, certifying boards, and hospitals to assure them
that the physician is competent.
Prior to 1900, there was no regulation and Surgeons which sought to create a
or licensure of physicians in the United universal examination with high stan-
States. The twentieth century ushered dards acceptable to all jurisdictions and
in the regulation of physicians, but to the osteopathic medical profession.
judgments regarding their competence This examination would be used to as-
were largely made by the use of proxy sess physicians seeking to practice osteo-
measures, such as a graduation certificate pathic medicine.
from a medical school. At first voluntary, but later required for
After 1920, states began to create graduation from all osteopathic medical
medical practice acts and individual schools by the AOA’s Commission on
state examinations for medical licensure. Osteopathic College Accreditation, an
It was in this milieu that, in 1934, men of examination for physician candidates
like mind had the vision to recognize the was developed which would ultimately
need to create an examination sequence be accepted in every state in the United
to evaluate the physician’s knowledge, States in recognition of the practitioner’s
skill and behavioral sets to competently ability to practice the art and science of
practice osteopathic medicine. osteopathic medicine.
They established the National Board The National Board of Examiners for
of Examiners for Osteopathic Physicians Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons
vii
promoted the concept that osteopathic examination. The 1940s introduced live
medicine offered a unique approach to patient clinical examinations in the hospi-
both health and disease that must be pre- tal setting. The 1950s brought identity and
served and promoted as a means to pro- reorganization. The 1960s were character-
vide the public with a valuable addition ized by the introduction of objective test-
to available traditional medicine. With the ing formats and wider acceptance across
assistance of the American Osteopathic the country. The 1970s brought advances
Association, a cadre of dedicated and in testing, scoring, and test administra-
committed professionals, the board de- tion. Some state medical boards sought
veloped the forerunner of what would be- assistance in building their own exami-
come the National Board of Osteopathic nations for licensure. The 1980s ushered
Medical Examiners and the COMLEX-USA in sophisticated item banking, electronic
osteopathic medical licensure examina- scoring, and test refinement. The 1990s
tion sequence of today. fostered significant research, the intro-
Although the name evolved from duction of COMLEX-USA, and organiza-
the National Board of Examiners for tional changes arising from a series of im-
Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons portant board meetings and retreats. In
to the National Board of Osteopathic 1995, the last diplomate status was award-
Medical Examiners, the mission of the ed. Today it is no longer necessary.
board has always remained to provide as- The new millennium would provide
surance to the public that all candidates a period of unprecedented growth and
who successfully complete the osteopath- expansion. It was in this decade that the
ic licensure sequence have met the min- NBOME established two venues of opera-
imum requirements of knowledge and tion, introduced computer-based testing,
skill to practice osteopathic medicine. and began clinical skills evaluation. Its ex-
During its seventy-five years, the aminations for licensure became accepted
NBOME has faced many obstacles and in all fifty states of the United States and
challenges that make the history of the many international jurisdictions.
organization compelling to study in order Thus, the twenty-first century has re-
to comprehend the scope of osteopathic quired more of the physician. Highly so-
medical licensure. Each decade brought phisticated testing for licensure and spe-
significant change and special character- cialty certification more closely resemble
istics to the National Board of Osteopathic the actual clinical environment in which
Medical Examiners. Many of the changes the physician works. These tests require
are revealed in the symbolism reflected the physician to show, rather than tell,
in the great seals of the board. The 1930s that he or she is competent. The physi-
brought initial organization and an essay cian must now demonstrate a clear com-
viii
mitment to life-long learning and must Osteopathic Medicine.” It has continued
possess the requisite clinical skills and to apply the organization’s values of qual-
knowledge to assure the public that the ity, security, safety, commitment, and ac-
medical professional they are selecting countability to create, preserve, and pro-
can and will meet their needs, as well as mote competency in osteopathic medical
those of society at large. licensure through its examination sys-
The pages that follow chronicle the tems and service to the public and the
milestones and benchmarks that have profession.
made the NBOME the respected organi- The NBOME looks forward to meeting
zation that it is today in both the domestic the challenges of the next seventy-five
and international regulatory and medical years with the same basic tenets: to sup-
educational arenas. It has steadfastly ad- port general access to quality medical care
hered to its mission, “To provide for the and to enhance the osteopathic medical
public welfare a means to assess compe- profession.
tency in the health disciplines relevant to ~ Frederick G. Meoli, DO
December 2009
ix