American Board of Medical Specialties

Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is a non-profit physician-led umbrella organization for 24 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 and oversees the certification and ongoing professional development of physician specialists by its 24 medical specialty Member Boards.

ABMS works closely with the Member Boards to set educational and professional standards for the evaluation and certification of physician specialists. The Member Boards certify specialists in numerous specialties and subspecialties through a comprehensive process involving educational requirements, professional peer evaluation and examination. ABMS also works in collaboration with other professional medical organizations and agencies to set rigorous standards for graduate medical school education and accreditation of residency and training programs.

The leadership at each Member Board is made up of certified specialists in the particular field represented by that board. Board members may include teachers in the specialty, those with specialized training or skills in the specialty or subspecialties represented by the board, and from among those who have demonstrated the expertise, motivation and ability to assist in evaluating candidates who wish to become board certified.

History
The concept of a specialty board was first proposed in 1908 by Dr. Derrick T. Vail in his presidential address to the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology. The purpose of which being, to define specialty qualifications, to supervise examinations that test the preparation of those who desire to practice and to issue credentials that would assure the public of the specialist's qualifications. Up until that time, there was no way to confirm that a physician claiming to be a specialist was indeed qualified. The idea was well received and soon other areas of medicine began forming their own boards.

At a June 1933 conference, the active specialty boards to date (Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Dermatology and Obstetrics and Gynecology) and the American Hospital Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Federation of State Medical Boards, the American Medical Association, the Council on Medical Education and Hospitals and the National Board of Medical Examiners agreed to create the Advisory Board for Medical Specialties to oversee the examination and certificaiton of specialties as conducted by the specialty boards. From 1933 to 1970, the Advisory Board operated as a federation of individual specialty boards. In 1970, the membership voted to reorganize the Advisory Board as the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)as it is known today. 

Member Boards
Year approved as an ABMS Member Board in parentheses.
 * American Board of Allergy and Immunology (1971)
 * American Board of Anesthesiology (1941)
 * American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery (1949)
 * American Board of Dermatology (ABMS Founding Member)
 * American Board of Emergency Medicine (1979)
 * American Board of Family Medicine (1969)
 * American Board of Internal Medicine (1936)
 * American Board of Medical Genetics (1991)
 * American Board of Neurological Surgery (1940)
 * American Board of Nuclear Medicine (1971)
 * American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABMS Founding Member)
 * American Board of Ophthalmology (ABMS Founding Member)
 * American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (1935)
 * American Board of Otolaryngology (ABMS Founding Member)
 * American Board of Pathology (1936)
 * American Board of Pediatrics (1935)
 * American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (1947)
 * American Board of Plastic Surgery (1941)
 * American Board of Preventive Medicine (1949)
 * American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (1935)
 * American Board of Radiology (1935)
 * American Board of Surgery (1937)
 * American Board of Thoracic Surgery (1971)
 * American Board of Urology (1935)