American Board of Medical Specialties
The American Board of Medical Specialties® (ABMS) promotes safe, quality patient health care by elevating the discipline of specialty medicine through board certification ABMS board certification serves two primary roles:- - As an independent evaluation of a physician’s or medical specialist’s knowledge and skills to practice safely and effectively in a specialty As a trusted credential patients can rely upon when selecting a provider for their needs The value of board certification by an ABMS Member Board is that it provides an ongoing, independent evaluation to assure that the specialty physician workforce:- Is skilled and clinically competent- Develops their specialty expertise throughout their careers- Meets the standards of practice established by their peers It is demonstrated by the ongoing public interest in seeking out board certified physicians and medical specialists (known as diplomates) and by the number of hospitals and other health care organizations that make board certification a key qualification for medical staff privileges
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An allergist-immunologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing, treating, and managing allergies, asthma, and disorders of the immune system. After completing medical school, they undergo additional specialized training through a residency in internal medicine or pediatrics, followed by a fellowship in allergy and immunology.
These specialists commonly treat conditions like:
- Seasonal and environmental allergies
- Food allergies
- Drug allergies
- Asthma
- Eczema
- Immune deficiencies
- Anaphylaxis
- Sinusitis
- Hives
You might want to see an allergist-immunologist if you:
- Experience recurring seasonal allergies that don't respond well to over-the-counter medications
- Have severe allergic reactions
- Need allergy testing to identify specific triggers
- Have asthma that's difficult to control
- Experience frequent infections that might indicate an immune system problem
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Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of organs inside the thoracic cavity — generally treatment of conditions of the heart, lungs, and other pleural or mediastinal structures.
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As a result of their extensive training and experience, colon and rectal surgeons develop the knowledge and skills necessary to diagnose and treat various diseases of the intestinal tract, colon, rectum, anal canal, and perianal area through medical and surgical means. They are also able to deal surgically with other organs and tissues (such as the liver, urinary, and female reproductive systems) involved with primary intestinal disease. A colon and rectal surgeon has expertise in diagnosing and often managing anorectal conditions in the office, such as hemorrhoids, fissures (painful tears in the anal lining), abscesses, and fistulae (infections located around the anus and rectum).
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A specialist in obstetrics and gynecology is a physician who has been trained to provide medical and surgical care for the pregnant patient, to deliver babies, and to provide medical and surgical care to treat conditions that affect the female reproductive system.
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A Gynecologic Oncologist is a specialist trained in the comprehensive management of patients with gynecologic cancer–cancers that affect the female reproductive system. Surgeons practicing in this specialty study these conditions, which differ significantly in the cause, prevention, detection, treatment, and survival rates.
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Neurological surgery is the discipline of medicine and the specialty of surgery that deals with the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of disorders of the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their supporting structures and vascular supply. Neurological surgery involves the evaluation and treatment of pathological processes that modify the function or activity of the nervous system, including the pituitary gland.
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An ophthalmologist is concerned with the comprehensive care of the eyes and vision, and is the only medical practitioner who is medically trained to diagnose and treat all eye and visual problems. Ophthalmologists provide vision services (glasses and contact lenses), treat medical disorders of the eye, and perform surgical procedures for treatment.
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Oral and maxillofacial surgeons are trained to recognize and treat a wide spectrum of diseases, injuries, and defects in the head, neck, face, jaws, and the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial region. They are also trained to administer anesthesia, and provide care in an office setting. They are trained to treat problems such as the extraction of wisdom teeth, misaligned jaws, and tumors and cysts of the jaw and mouth, and to perform dental implant surgery.
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Orthopaedic surgery is a surgical specialty that is specifically devoted to the care of the musculoskeletal system. This system includes bones, joints, muscles, associated nerves, arteries, and the overlying skin. Much of the orthopaedic surgeon's practice involves the performance of surgical procedures, but many conditions are treated medically or physically through the use of braces, casts, splints, or physical therapy.
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An otolaryngologist is a physician who has been trained to provide comprehensive medical and surgical care to patients who have diseases and disorders that affect the ears, the respiratory and upper alimentary systems, and related structures.
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Pediatric surgeons are primarily concerned with the diagnosis, preoperative, operative, and postoperative management of surgical problems in children, and they operate on children whose development ranges from the newborn stage through the teenage years.
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The specialty of plastic surgery deals with the repair, replacement, and reconstruction of defects of the form and function of the body covering and its underlying musculoskeletal system, with emphasis on the craniofacial structures, the oropharynx, the upper and lower limbs, the breast, and the external genitalia. This surgical specialty also focuses on the aesthetic surgery of structures with undesirable form.
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A urologist is a physician who manages benign and malignant medical and surgical disorders of the adrenal gland and of the genitourinary system. Urologists have comprehensive knowledge of, and skills in, endoscopic, percutaneous, and open surgery of congenital and acquired conditions of the reproductive and urinary systems and their contiguous structures.
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Vascular surgeons care for patients with diseases that affect the arteries and veins throughout the body. Hardening of the arteries, atherosclerosis, is the most common problem that vascular surgeons treat. In addition, vascular surgeons are trained to diagnose and treat strokes, which can be brought on by a blockage or narrowing of the arteries in the neck. Because the damage done by strokes is often irreversible, vascular surgeons must be able to make early diagnoses of potential stroke victims. The surgeon who treats the vascular system must also be able to diagnose and treat aneurysms and blood clots in the arteries and veins, as well as the after effects of conditions of the vascular system.
