Rand Paul... NOT a Board Certified (but self certified) Doctor!

[Bennyboy]

Last edited Thu Oct 17, 2013, 03:08 PM - Edit history (1)

Dr. Paul: Not board-certified, but self-certified

Asked by a Louisville reporter when he would explain his dubious certification, Rand Paul said: "Uh ... never"

Libertarian ideology rejects most of the modern regulatory systems that protect consumers, because everyone should be responsible for determining whether the hamburger contains E. coli on his own. But does that do-it-yourself dogma apply to the regulation of medicine, too? If you’re Dr. Rand Paul, practicing ophthalmologist, the answer is emphatically yes.

According to an amusing story in today’s Louisville Courier-Journal, the Kentucky Republican Senate candidate bills himself as a “board-certified” physician even though he is not actually certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology — the only recognized body that certifies doctors in his specialty.

Paul’s only certification was provided instead by something called the National Board of Ophthalmology, which is very convenient because he operates that organization himself. As the Courier-Journal explains drily, the American Board of Ophthalmology, which maintains a fully staffed headquarters in Philadelphia, has existed for roughly a century and currently lists about 16,000 doctors on its rolls. (Most hospitals and insurance companies strongly prefer doctors who are board-certified because certification indicates that they have kept up with changes in technology, best practices and so on.) The National Board of Ophthalmology has existed since 1999, when Paul “founded” it, lists no more than seven doctors, and its address is a post-office box in Bowling Green, Ky. He had claimed to be certified by both boards, but Courier-Journal reporter Joseph Gerth quickly discovered that claim was false.

MORE: http://www.salon.com/2010/06/14/rand_2/

[Capt. Obvious]

1. Wait, weren't most of his patients paying with Medicare?

[IggleDoer]

4. Medicare pays differently for Board Certified and non-Board Certified physicians

If he claims Board Certification to Medicare, he is committing Medicare fraud

[mysuzuki2]

2. When was the last time this guy actually practiced opthamology?

[Ms. Toad]

3. You might want to edit your caption.

There is a difference between not being a doctor (MD or DO, generally with a license to practice medicine) and not being board certified (certification of skills in a narrow area by a specialty board). Nothing in the article suggests he is not a licensed doctor.

[kestrel91316]

13. Thank you. OP is idiotic.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

14. They give out doctorates for fly fishing....

All those TV preachers are "doctors" too.

It just ain't what it used to be.

[Ms. Toad]

15. He is an MD, and licensed to practice medicine.

He just isn't board certified in a specialty by what most consider a recognized board.

Board certification is an additional step beyond holding an MD and beyond being licensed to practice medicine, and even beyond practicing a specialty.

The original title ("Rand Paul... NOT a Doctor!&quot stated he was not a doctor, and that is false.

(Not really related to what you consider junk degrees.)

[Spitfire of ATJ]

16. Uh huh...

[Ms. Toad]

17. .

"

Michael J. Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs for Duke University in Durham, N.C., said his school's records show Paul received his medical degree from Duke in 1988 and completed his residency there in 1993.

Rankings by U.S. News & World Report again place Duke University School of Medicine among the top 10 medical schools in the nation.

Trash him all you want for being a negative net value add to the world - but at least be honest about it. It is self-defeating to assert something which is blatantly false (he's not an MD, or his MD is a "Cracker Jack" degree), especially false information which is easily disproven.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. The POINT is that he feels the rules don't apply to him....

Last edited Sat Nov 9, 2013, 03:44 PM - Edit history (1)

And he HAD to have washed out of the normal certification to go through the trouble (and expense) of creating his own.

[BlueToTheBone]

5. Did he even stay in a Holiday Inn?

This guy is worse than a fraud!

[Barack_America]

6. Not board certified, still a physician.

He should not be practicing ophthalmology, but he is still an MD and has earned the title of "doctor". Possibly even still licensed, which is regulated by state medical boards.

I'd rather leave the honor of bestowing that title to our nation's medical schools, rather than turning it over to organizations with corporate interests.

[Paladin]

7. I'm still amazed that people entrusted their eyes to this creep. (nt)

[dairydog91]

8. Wasn't he once certified by the ABO?

I thought he was originally certified, but he allowed the certification to lapse for some reason. I don't recall hearing anything to the effect of him being decertified for malpractice or other poor behavior.

[spanone]

9. a board certified whacko nut-case fraud

[Orrex]

10. So he's a doctor like Dr. Dre or Dr. Johnny Fever?

But less cool than either, of course.

[Coyotl]

11. I can certify Mr. Paul. Whose got a napkin? The dude is nuts.

[kestrel91316]

12. He most certainly IS a doctor. Whether or not he is certified by a LEGITIMATE

specialty board is the question.

He DID graduate from medical school. He IS or WAS licensed to practice medicine.

Stop with this foolishness.