The American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) offers board certification in the general specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Certified physicians can then choose to further specialize in one of the five OB GYN subspecialties: Complex Family Planning, Gynecologic Oncology, Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery. Physicians certified by ABOG who maintain their certifications by participating in ABOG's Maintenance of Certification (continuing certification) program are issued digital badges representing each of the certifications they maintain. You can look for these badges (shown below) to help you verify whether a physician is board certified and participates in continuing certification tasks to stay abreast of medical advances.
Board certification is a voluntary pursuit. Physicians are only required to secure a medical license to practice medicine in any given state. Physicians who choose to pursue certification are enhancing their medical knowledge beyond that required of state licensure.
What is "Maintenance of Certification"? What is "Evidence-Based Medicine"? Watch two short videos to find out.
ABOG has produced videos for you to hear directly from physicians. The first conveys what "maintenance of certification" is and why it's important. The second explains what it means to practice "evidence-based" medicine and why it's important for your OB GYN to provide care using evidence-based treatment practices.
What Is Maintenance of Certification?
What is Evidence-Based Medicine?
"Board certification gives not only us physicians the ability to brand ourselves as somebody who has gone the extra mile to make sure that we're up-to-date in what we need to provide for patients, but it also allows the public to know that. It also allows them to know that by having board certification, the type of care they're going to receive [from a board-certified physician] is likely to be more evidence-based."
Go back to OB/GYN Health+ main page. Or visit our FAQs page for more details about board certification, what's involved with becoming certified, and the value in seeking out a certified OB GYN or certified subspecialist (and find out what a subspecialist is).