Official Board Certification in Aesthetic Medicine Does Not Exist

There has been great discussion regarding the Board Certification of Aesthetic Medicine. Currently the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) does not offer a board certification in Aesthetic Medicine. The ABMS currently states that “antiaging is not a medical specialty,” and therefore no association or organization can officially be offering “board certification” in aesthetic medicine at this time. However, you will find organizations creating their own board certification in anti-aging and aesthetic medicine for training.

As a backgrounder, the ABMS is a non-profit organization empowered to regulate the certification of medical specialties. Before the formation of the ABMS, a physician could advertise that he/she was a specialist in any medical arena. However, since its establishment, the ABMS “certification” is the gold standard for medical training and examinations, thereby ensuring a pre-eminent level of education, ethics and care across multiple medical specialties.

The ABMS clearly states that its mission is “to communicate to external stakeholders that ‘board certification’ is the major marker of quality for physicians’ performance and that the ABMS is recognized as the organization that establishes these standards and criteria.” That said, the ABMS also states that “anti-aging is not yet considered a medical speciality”, akin to plastic surgery or dermatology, and therefore, at this time, the ABMS does not offer a “board certification” in aesthetic medicine.

Since the ABMS does not currently offer “board certification” in aesthetic medicine, the IAPAM cannot in all good conscience offer “board certification” in aesthetic medicine. Will the public find board certified anti-aging and aesthetic medicine physician? Yes, but it must be know that their “board certification” is not endorsed by the ABMS.

Ultimately, the IAPAM has developed the responsible guiding principal that it cannot offer board certification in aesthetic medicine until such certification is recognized along with the other 24 medical specialities currently acknowledged by the ABMS.

Therefore, until that time when aesthetic medicine is considered a medical specialty by the ABMS, the bottom line for practitioners and patients alike is: whether engaging a “board certified” surgeon, or a peer-trained physician, patients must complete their due diligence by researching both the practitioner and the treatment, asking the doctor and others for referrals, and ensuring that they feel completely comfortable before undergoing any procedure.

Jeff Russell