Study, study, study

I decided I really needed to pursue Diplomate status with the American Baord of Bariatric Medicine. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it right. I did not want to be just another "fat doctor!"

I started my bariatric (weight loss medicine) education by getting some tapes from former academy meetings. These were very helpful and I followed up by attending meetings. There was a total of 50 credit hours required, but I exceeded this greatly to learn all I needed to know. There was a written exam as the first official step toward certification, and I knew I had to pass with an absolute percentage. There was no "grading on the curve." I was pleased to do pass on my first try.

Now I was authorized to take the ORAL exams. More studying and case reviews! Standing in front of 3 experts in bariatrics and answering questions about cases was daunting, but in a strange way fun as well. I passed and went on the the next stage.

To be a Diplomate of the Board I was required to have a program running for a year and meet specific quality criteria. I had about a year and a half under my belt (no pun intended!) and the program was going well. I was struggling with the realization that many of the people who were initially interested were not yet ready, so my numbers were small, but the results were good. This was to be an on-site evaluation by another member of the board. Our program passed without difficulty (although it has improved a lot since then!)




To my great joy, I received diplomate status in 2004.