Board certification is the process by which a physician, veterinarian, or other professional demonstrates a mastery of advanced knowledge and skills through written, oral, practical, or simulator-based testing.
The FDA encourages board certification of all toxicologists who work in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, especially of those who oversee preclinical product safety studies.
The American Board of Toxicology is the oldest and largest certification body in the world to ensure the competency of toxicologists involved in preclinical drug discovery.
Development of the first core competency document takes five to ten years and is a prerequisite to creating the certification examination.
Physicians seeking board certification in a given area of specialty must successfully complete and pass an examination process designed to test their mastery of the minimum knowledge and skills contained in the core competency document.
Prior to taking the examination, a physician must graduate with a degree, either MD, DO or DPM and meet all other prerequisites to certification as set out by the certifying agency or "board."
Many specialties have over the decades attempted to evaluate skills through "practical" examinations using "model" patients (actors) or by observing the physician candidate in a clinical environment.
Examinations vary, but many utilize multiple choice and essay questions to test the attorney's substantive knowledge and experience.
AOABOS and ABPS each have associated with national medical organizations functioning as an umbrella for its various specialty academies, colleges and societies (see table).
Any physician may join these organizations, though most require board certification in order to become a fellow of the college and use the respective post-nominal letters.
While medical licensing in general has been criticized, the board certification process itself has generated a number of controversies and debates.
Since many certification boards have begun requiring periodic re-examination, critics in newspapers such as The New York Times have decried board certification exams as being "its own industry", costing doctors thousands of dollars each time and serving to enrich testing and prep companies rather than improving the quality of the profession.