Physician profile pages on healthtap have medical specialties next to the word "board certified, " such as "pulmonology, board certified." this means?

Member of guild. : Board certification in a specialty is much like a trade guild. Examinations are taken regularly, regular class work is required, and a certain ongoing level of competence is implied. Among other things, board-certification almost always requires specialized residency training that follows medical school. Sometimes additional fellowship training is required for medical or surgical specialities.

See below.: Each medical specialty has a board. Purpose of boards is to ensure safety and quality of care and advance scholarly and ethical conduct in performance of their specialty. Board certification means you have passed their standards/ exams (and paid their fees). Not all docs are board certified, and there is no requirement, but it is a great achievement.

Board certified: Hi charlreese63, when one trains to be a doctor they have residency, fellowship, and board exams. When they finish their fellowship in say, Pulmonology, they can sit for their board exams. These exams are extremely comprehensive. Once passed, the physician is considered an "expert" in their field. And thus, board certified. Hope thats helpful.