AOA is at Critical Point in Its History

Stuart Damon, DO shares his recent correspondence with then-AOA President (now Immediate Past President) John Becher, DO:

From: Stuart Damon
Date: April 13, 2016
To: John Becher
Subject: Re: What makes you and me different?

Dr. Becher –

Thank you for your reply. I do appreciate your response.

With respect, a HOD resolution isn’t enough. From what I have heard so far, the ACOFP has forwarded a recommendation encouraging review of OCC. Tactically and strategically inadequate. OCC and recertification both need to be done away with by immediate action of the AOA leadership.

OCC and the manner in which came into being is a symptom of a larger problem (more to follow).

There are virtually no data that compare lifetime with time-limited diplomates; I have found two such studies. Neither involved a large sample space, and both demonstrated similar results: though the marker of quality was different between the two studies, there were no differences between lifetime and time-limited certification holders.