Sweet Home Alabama Board of Medical Examiners

To become a licensed physician in Alabama, one must go through a process. Of course you cannot do anything these days without paying for it, so a $20 money order is required. You also need to be certified by the American Board of Medical Specialities and that is a whole process within itself.

The American Board of Medical Specialities "assists in the development and use of standards in the ongoing evaluation and certification of physicians". This board is actually recognized as the "gold standard" in terms of physician certification. They are a big deal!! To get certified by them, one must go through a bunch of testing and peer evaluations which are designed by and administered by specialists in the specific area. The board's Maintenance of Certification uses national standards along with evidence-based guidelines to find physicians that demonstrate leadership within their continuing education while being a part of the national movement for healthcare quality.

To become board certified one must get their bachelor's degree. Then they have to go through four years of medical school and then go through their residency training (usually takes about 3-5 years). They will then receive their license to practice along with their board certified General Certification. A fellowship program follows (about 1-3 years) along with any subspecialty certifications they might go through. They go through their area of practice (ranges from Private Practice, Education, Healthcare Facility, Public Service or Research) and then FINALLY hundreds of years later it seems, you get to be board certified!!! Sounds like a long process? Well that's because it is!!

It is interesting to note that there are assessments involved with the process. As I said before there is peer evaluations along with a lot of testing. Clearly, to be a physician you are going to go through a lot of assessment type features to make sure you are on top of your game; after all being a physician IS a pretty big deal. Once you are board certified, you can send your 20 bucks and proof of certification to Alabama's Board of Medical Examiners and cross your fingers! I cannot imagine that the people in Alabama would turn down anyone that is board certified and wants to work down there.