Ophthalmologists should be proactive with professional self-regulation
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SAN FRANCISCO — Professional self-regulation is a responsibility and privilege that physicians have been granted and should be proactively embraced to ensure maintenance of professional competence and safety of care.
During a symposium on professional longevity at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting, George B. Bartley, MD, recalled the history and reaffirmed the critical role of the American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) in setting, certifying and promoting the maintenance of professional standards through lifelong learning.
“Licensure is absolutely necessary but alone is not sufficient,” he said, quoting Jeffrey Saver, MD, who said that “physicians should recognize their professional duty to continually assess their own and their colleagues’ physical and mental health, to willingly engage in well-designed assessment programs and to potentially prepare occupational living wills.”
Physicians’ competence inevitably declines with age, and individuals may not be as good as they think in assessing their own performance.
“This issue is of such importance that the 14 January, 2020, issue of JAMA included a quartet of articles discussing how best to evaluate the cognitive status of aging physicians and emphasizing our responsibility to maintain competency,” Bartley said.
A recent study published by Bhavna Sheth, MD, MBA, in the American Journal of Ophthalmology found a higher risk for disciplinary actions against the medical licenses of ophthalmologists who did not maintain their ABO certification as compared with ophthalmologists who did.
“Although maintenance of certification programs by specialty boards have been criticized, they are the key component of this effort and should be supported,” Bartley said.
He encouraged colleagues to be proactive, considering voluntary participation in maintenance of certification/continuing certification programs.
“The ABO Quarterly Questions program offers the opportunity to confidentially assess your depth of knowledge and to compare your results with your peers and colleagues,” he said.
By supporting the effort of building a culture of continuous improvement, physicians will protect themselves, their patients and their profession at large, helping the younger generations to retain the privilege of professional self-regulation.
“Otherwise, it will be done ‘for’ us, that is, ‘to’ us,” Bartley said.
Reference:
- Sheth BP, et al. Am J Ophthalmol. 2023;doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2022.11.001.
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Bartley GB. Self-regulation: What is the role of the American Board of Ophthalmology? Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting; Nov. 3-6, 2023; San Francisco.
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