A question that often comes up is whether taking the ABOM exam is necessary or worth it. For me, it certainly has been worth it. When I was trying to decide if I should invest the money in the exam process, my husband told me I’d spent so much money already becoming the doctor I might as well spend a tiny bit more and do exactly what I wanted to do with my career.
Going through medical school, I always knew I wanted to do something with nutrition and exercise and help prevent medical problems. I had no idea Obesity Medicine was even a specialty, and in fact, it wasn’t; it was called Bariatric Medicine at the time! As an intern, I was able to do a month-long clinical rotation with an obesity specialist. I fell in love with this type of medicine. So I decided immediately after taking my Family Medicine boards, I would take the Obesity Medicine boards. Since I knew I wanted to spend at least half of my time practicing this style of medicine, it made a lot of sense for me to put in the work, really understand obesity, and take the board exam. I also feel that it added to my credibility and helped me explain to other health professionals what I was doing.
That being said, there are many clinicians practicing Obesity Medicine, and doing a wonderful job, without having taken the board exam or even being eligible to take it. I don’t think the exam should be a barrier to getting started in Obesity Medicine. You can always dip your toe and expand your knowledge and take the board when and if it feels like the right career move for you. It’s certainly not required to be able to treat obesity, and for many of us, treating obesity fits naturally into our current specialty. We need as many clinicians as possible to treat obesity with compassion and evidence, so the board shouldn’t be a barrier to good patient care.
One thing is for sure, whichever route you choose, starting to treat obesity is a fantastic way to help your patients and improve career satisfaction! If you want to improve obesity treatment competency and get the skills and tools right away, consider my course, The Obesity Medicine Start Up Course and Toolkit– which is AMA PRA Category 1 CME approved and counts for ABOM required CME if you go that path! You can find it at www.helpyourpatientsloseweight.com
For more information on practicing obesity medicine or taking the ABOM exam, please check out the following 1 hour recorded webinar video: The ABOM Exam & Getting Starting in Obesity Medicine.
