In part 1 of this two-part series, I sit down with George B. Bartley, MD, who details the history of the American Board of Ophthalmology, plus everything you ever wanted to know about board certification and maintaining your certificate.

• Intro :14
• In this episode :24
• About Dr. Bartley :49
• The interview 1:06
• Who is Dr. Bartley? 1:09
• History of the ABO and Dr. Bartley’s journey with them 3:51
• What are the benefits of having board certification? 7:50
• What are the initial steps to becoming board certified? 11:46
• What happens next with the postponement? 17:21
• Once you’re board certified, how does maintenance of certification (MOC) work? 23:25
• How does one pass the quarterly questions? 33:03
• How many years do people need to pass to maintain certification? 35:08
• CME vs. self-assessment CME 36:20
• Are there any potential changes to the certification process? 37:53
• What’s the most important issue facing the ABO, now or in the future? 41:05
• Thank you for your service to the ABO, Dr. Bartley 42:20

George B. Bartley, MD, is chief executive officer, American Board of Ophthalmology; chief executive officer, Mayo Clinic in Florida; and The Louis and Evelyn Krueger Professor of Ophthalmology, Mayo Clinic.

Disclosures: Bartley reports the American Board of Ophthalmology reimburses Mayo Clinic for a portion of his salary and benefits. Mali reports he is founder and CEO of Mali Enterprises; retina medical director at Macular Degeneration Association; grant/research support from Alimera Sciences, Allergan/AbbVie, Chengdu Kanghong Biotechnology, Genentech, Notal Vision, Regeneron and Santen; consulting for Alimera Sciences, Allergan/AbbVie, Eyepoint Pharmaceuticals, Genentech, Kala Pharmaceuticals, Macular Degeneration Association, Notal Vision, Novartis, Regeneron and Sun Pharmaceuticals; speaker bureau for Alimera Sciences, Genentech, Kala Pharmaceuticals, Macular Degeneration Association, Notal Vision, Novartis and Sun Pharmaceuticals; and stock/shareholder with AbbVie and Regeneron.

We’d love to hear from you! Send your comments/questions to Dr. Mali at [email protected]. Follow us on Twitter @Healio_OSN. Information about certification and maintaining certification can be found on the American Board of Ophthalmology’s website: https://abop.org. For news, updates, and announcements, visit the board’s blog at https://diplomatedigest.com. To receive personalized assistance maintaining ABO certification, contact Amy Savastano, diplomate success specialist, at 610-664-1175 or [email protected].