American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists

The American Osteopathic Association Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (AOABS) is a non-profit umbrella organization for 18 of the 26 approved medical specialty boards in the United States. It is one of three leading entities overseeing physician certification in the United States. The AOABS assists its Member Boards in developing and implementing educational and professional standards to evaluate and certify physician specialists.

AOABS is recognized by the key healthcare accreditation organizations as a primary equivalent source of physician board certification data on medical specialists for credentialing purposes.

History
The concept of a specialty board was first proposed in 1908 by Dr. Derrick T. Vail. In 1917, ophthalmology became the first officially incorporated board. The second specialty board, the American Board of Otolaryngology, was founded and incorporated in 1924. The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (1930) and the American Board of Dermatology and Syphilology (1932) followed. The AOABS was organized in 1939 as the Advisory Board for Osteopathic Specialists for the certification of osteopathic physicians. In 1993, the Board of Trustees of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), through its agency, the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists, became the osteopathic certifying body.

Member Boards

 * American Osteopathic Board of Anesthesiology
 * American Osteopathic Board of Dermatology
 * American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine
 * American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians
 * American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine
 * American Osteopathic Board of Neurology and Psychiatry
 * American Osteopathic Board of Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine
 * American Osteopathic Board of Nuclear Medicine
 * American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
 * American Osteopathic Board of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology
 * American Osteopathic Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
 * American Osteopathic Board of Pathology
 * American Osteopathic Board of Pediatrics
 * American Osteopathic Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
 * American Osteopathic Board of Preventive Medicine
 * American Osteopathic Board of Proctology
 * American Osteopathic Board of Radiology
 * American Osteopathic Board of Surgery