Introduction " Everyone knows that a "medical doctor" is a physician who has had years of training to understand the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. The basic training for a physician specialist includes four years of premedical education in a college or university, four years of medical school, and after receiving the M.D. degree, at least three years of specialty training under supervision (called a "residency"). Training in subspecialties can take an additional one to three years. How to Determine if a Physician is a Certified Specialist " Certified specialists are listed in The Official ABMS Directory of Board Certified Medical Specialists published by Marquis Who's Who. The ABMS Directory can be found in most public libraries, hospital libraries, university libraries and medical libraries, and is also available on CD-ROM. Alternatively, you could ask for that information from your county medical society, the American Board of Medical Specialties, or one of the specialty boards (see link under "Member Boards")
" The ABMS also arranges for the publication of lists of certified specialists/subspecialists and operates a toll free phone line (1-866-ASK-ABMS) to verify the certification status of individual physicians. Additionally, information about the ABMS organization and links to an electronic directory of certified specialists can be accessed through the ABMS Web site at http://www.abms.org."
THERE IS MUCH MORE TO READ AT THE ABOVE WEBSITE....