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<p>Need to correct this misinformation. And yes, I am an MD. </p>
<p>There are two different kinds of medical ‘Boards.’</p>
<p>Nat’l Board of Medical Examiners administers a 3 part test, taken during and shortly after completion of med school, that determines minimal competency to practice medicine. I may be off a bit on timing as it has been a long time but it is essentially tied to medical school education. State medical boards use this information to grant licenses. I don’t recall specifically if residencies look at NBME results, but in any case, they would only have results of part 1 to look at as parts 2 and 3 are done after applying for residencies. They are NOT used to determine who can go into what specialties, which is limited only by ones desire and ones ability to get accepted into a residency of that specialty. At my top medical school, we basically approached these as pass/fail. These are a one time thing.</p>
<p>There is also Specialty Boards, which is what is commonly referred to as “Board Certification.” These are administered by various specialties such as Surgery, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry etc. and are taken after one finishes residency (or fellowship if subspecialty training is pursued) and need to be renewed every x number of years. These are also basically pass/fail in that while you receive a score, no one cares what that is as long as you have passed and therefore are ‘Board Certified.’ ‘Board Eligible’ means you have met the requirements to sit for the Board exam but have not yet done so, or sat but did not pass.</p>
<p>And for the record, primary care, while less lucrative, is in no way less prestigious in the eyes of the physician. And I am not in primary care.</p>