There's a good reason why, almost every night, my wife and I watch The Colbert Report before heading off to bed: Stephen Colbert is able to make us laugh about the state of the world, which, when we watch the regular news, usually is disturbingly depressing.
A few days ago Colbert revealed that Rand Paul, a libertarian ophthalmologist who is the Republican candidate for U.S. Senator in Kentucky (and son of Ron Paul) isn't board-certified in his medical specialty -- though Paul claims that he is.
Yes, it's true.
The national panel that approves doctors as board certified said U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul isn't on the list, even though he has campaigned as holding the endorsement.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that the American Board of Medical Specialties, which works with the American Medical Association, doesn't recognize certification by a group Paul founded in 1991 and heads.
Just what you'd expect from a Tea Party libertarian type. No need to go through the trouble of documenting to a bunch of experts that you're qualified to practice a particular sort of medicine.
Just form your own "National Board of Ophthalmology" and certify yourself. Colbert took this to its logical conclusion, declaring that he was equally free to perform lasik surgery on an intern... using a laser pointer and a cat.
Hilarious. After some brief ads, the Rand Paul segment extends to about the eleven minute mark. Enjoy.
Although I'm no fan of Rand Paul's politics, he actually has a good reason for doing what he did with this. His objection to the other group was that they grandfathered in some old doctors and didn't require them to meet the standards that younger doctors did. So he and other doctors who felt that everyone should meet the same standards formed the other group. If this story is correct, I'm on Paul's side - on this one and only issue.
Posted by: WesHopper | June 24, 2010 at 03:30 PM
WesHopper, apparently only about seven doctors are certified by Paul's group, and he won't state what the standards are for certification. So this is an obvious attempt to get around AMA-recognized board certification requirements, not an effort to form a reputable alternative organization.
And if this was so up-and-up, why is Paul refusing to answer questions about his organization?
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100614/NEWS0106/6140307/Rand-Paul-s-ophthalmology-certification-not-recognized-by-national-clearinghouse
Posted by: Brian Hines | June 24, 2010 at 04:44 PM
You gotta love all the republicans in Kentucky who voted for Rand Paul and brought him to national exposure, priceless. Lets face it they will try to vote this liar in but we can only wait and see if there is other skeltons in hs closet, oh yeah he is not a racist, I repeat, he is not a racist. Great thing is we are talking about Kentucky, so being a racist is a positive.
Posted by: Montana | June 25, 2010 at 01:25 PM
Wow. I question each of these sources and where they obtained their information about rand paul. I could care less about his views but I wish they actually showed legitimate sources.
Posted by: Alan | June 28, 2010 at 01:01 PM
That, and the source couldnt even spell a specialists specialty.
Posted by: Alan | June 28, 2010 at 01:03 PM
If you haven't figured it out by now, you don't need to be part of the AMA to be board certified. You are certified by you State and Federal requirements. Joining the AMA is like joining any club associated with your profession and not mandatory. Many health professionals don't need to joint their "Association." I am a practicing health care provider and licensed by the State and Federal level and work every day since my degree was given and passed the State/Federal requirement test. I am not part of my Association for the reason of minimal benefit. I'd get a journal, a few perks off of conferences, etc... but I can still work without their recognition that I'm a part of the "Association."
Posted by: John | December 11, 2015 at 07:21 PM