Sammamish Face AnswersQuote the claim, then check it

Are you certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery?

Reading "board certified" as a record to look up

Verifying the certificate in the board's own lookup

Quoted as "board certified," the claim is settled by a lookup on the issuing board's own site, not by a practice's website or any general source.

"Board certified" is missing a noun

The claim I quote is "board certified." It is missing a noun. Certified by which board, in which specialty, and is the certification current? The board named in the question above is one board, and other boards carry similar names, which is the first reason to read claims letter by letter.

Here is how I would check:

  1. Ask the practice for the full name of the board on its claim.
  2. Look the surgeon up on that board's own site, not on a directory the practice chose.
  3. Confirm the specialty and that the status is current.
  4. Ask whether the board certification covers the procedure you are considering.

A starting point for sorting out the terms is a plastic surgery society's article on the differences between plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery and why board certification matters. To check the credential against a wider list, read The Aesthetic Society's page on plastic surgeon qualifications to look for. If a credential claim turns out to be false, you can file a complaint with the Washington State Department of Health.

Checking the board record yourself

  1. Write down the exact credential wording the practice uses.
  2. Look up the surgeon on the named board's own site and note what it shows.
  3. Ask the practice about any difference between the website and the board record.

What a credential does not cover

A surgeon did not write these checks, and none of them is medical advice. A credential tells you about training and standards at the time it was granted. It does not replace asking about the specific procedure you are considering.