- What is Board Certification?
- Are all Cosmetic Surgeons Board Certified?
- Patient Benefits of Board Certification
If you follow Dr. Thomas Bartell, you may have noticed that Dr. Bartell frequently mentions that he’s a board-certified plastic surgeon who practices in Madison, Wisconsin. If you’ve been wondering, why is board certification important? here’s the run-down of how a surgeon becomes board certified and how it positively impacts patients.
What is Board Certification?
To become board certified, a physician must complete medical school, as well as the United States Medical Licensing Examination to practice medicine in his or her particular state. The physician must then complete a residency or fellowship that lasts anywhere from three to seven years. During this time the physician must also take a ABMS-approved certification exam in his or her specialty. If the specialist passes this rigorous exam, he or she will then be considered board certified.
To be board certified is not a one-and-done situation, however. Board certification additionally requires a specialist to pass ongoing assessments and take continuing education modules in order to keep up to date with the current best practices.
Are all Cosmetic Surgeons Board Certified?
The answer may surprise you–no! Not all cosmetic surgeons are board certified in plastic surgery. In fact, any licensed physician can call himself a cosmetic surgeon even if he hasn’t been trained as one! Yikes!
Want to find out if your cosmetic surgeon is board certified? Click here for a helpful tool from The American Society of Plastic Surgeons to learn more about your doctor’s credentials. This search tool will let you know if your physician is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery or The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
What are the Patient Benefits of Board Certification?
Patients benefit greatly from their surgeons’ board certification. Patients of board-certified doctors can be assured that their doctors are skilled and knowledgeable in their area of expertise, truly experts in their field. After the initial certification, physicians must complete ongoing certification that helps them stay current with the best practices in care and patient safety, as well as refine their skills to provide the best patient outcomes.
Board-certified doctors have committed themselves to continually learn, improve, and innovate in order to provide the highest quality of care for their patients. Research has shown that board-certified doctors receive lower disciplinary actions and provide higher quality of care.
A Little About Dr. Thomas Bartell
Dr. Bartell is the area’s premier below-the-neck body recontouring specialist. He’s successfully completed many hundreds of cosmetic procedures over the years. His most popular procedure is scarless breast augmentation.
Dr. Bartell is grateful for his excellent education and training. A Madison native, Dr. Bartell graduated from Yale University’s nationally recognized pre-medicine program. He then returned home to the University of Wisconsin Medical School. Dr. Bartell took classes at the same hospital where he was born!
He spent the next seven years in St. Louis for postgraduate study at Barnes Hospital. This is associated with Washington University’s top-ranked surgery programs and St. Louis University’s plastic surgery program. This training included a wide variety of general surgical procedures as well as concentration on the specialized areas of plastic and reconstructive surgery.
During his training at Barnes, Dr. Bartell authored or co-authored more than a dozen scientific articles. To further refine his surgical skills and knowledge, he completed a prized surgical fellowship with a renowned plastic surgery hand specialist practicing in Tucson, Arizona.
In the years that followed, Dr. Bartell worked in a large plastic surgery practice in the Chicago suburbs. This experience gave him the opportunity to focus extensively on cosmetic procedures and acquire the medical business acumen to start his own practice.
The safety and satisfaction of his patients are Dr. Bartell’s top priorities. Being board-certified is an important way that Dr. Bartell can provide his patients with the highest quality care.
Schedule Your Consultation Today
To schedule your consultation with board-certified cosmetic surgeon Dr. Bartell, click here. Dr. Bartell focuses exclusively on below-the-neck procedures, such as scarless breast augmentation in Madison, Wisconsin.
Why is Board Certification Important? brought to you by Dr. Thomas Bartell