What Does it Mean to be Board Certified?
When it comes to undergoing any cosmetic surgery, there are important things to consider such as finding a surgeon with the right amount of expertise and experience. Board certified cosmetic surgeon, Dr. Rhys Branman, explains the rigorous and strict qualifications involved in obtaining board certification by the American Board of Cosmetic Surgery. To learn more, watch on KATV Channel 7’s Good Morning Arkansas series.
What Does it Mean to be Board Certified? Video Transcript
Male host: Dr. Rhys Branman is here to share some of the advantages of using a board-certified surgeon. So we’ll talk with Dr. Branman in our first time to talk with him, I believe, of the new year. So he’s back with us.
Female host: Yes. Some of the questions you should ask before you go in.
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Announcer: From the station that’s on your side, this is Channel 7 News Good Morning Arkansas.
Male host: Coming up after this short break, we’re gonna talk, here on Good Morning Arkansas, about the advantages of using a board-certified surgeon. Stay with us, we’ll be right back.
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Female host: Welcome back, everybody. Our buddy Dr. Rhys Branman joins us today to talk about the advantages of using a board-certified surgeon when you’re going in for surgery. Good to see you.
Dr. Branman: Good to see you, too. Happy New Year!
Female host: Happy New Year to you, too! Been busy?
Dr. Branman: I’ve been, oh, very busy. New year starts off with a bang, we say, and everybody comes in, starting to get ready for the spring.
Female host: I need a new me in 2016, right?
Dr. Branman: A new me, that’s right, that’s right.
Female host: But, obviously, you are a certified surgeon.
Dr. Branman: That’s right. A board-certified cosmetic surgeon.
Female host: Let’s talk about why that is important.
Dr. Branman: Why is it important? You know, everybody wonders why board certification has this mystique to it. But what it means is that you’ve really spent the time and energy to really complete a rigorous training program, and show to your peers that you’re safe, that you have the knowledge to back up the procedures that you do, and that you’re gonna go out and do a good job for the general public.
Female host: Right. I would almost automatically think, “This surgeon must be board-certified,” but that’s not always the case.
Dr. Branman: No, that’s not always the case. There’s a lot of doctors that just do four years of medical school and they go out. There’s another number of doctors that don’t complete their board certification for a number of reasons. Maybe they can’t complete it. Maybe that they just haven’t been able to pass the exams. So, would you really wanna go to a physician that hasn’t been able to pass the exams to become board-certified? I’m not sure.
Female host: Yeah. As board-certified, I mean, how many surgeries did you have to do to get there?
Dr. Branman: We had to do…just to qualify to take the boards I had to do 300 cosmetic procedures just before you could even sit for the exams. And so it really does say to the public that, “Hey, this doctor has actually gone through the process, done the procedures, and I can feel comfortable going to that physician.”
Female host: Very good. What questions should I ask my doctor? Because sometimes we feel nervous asking you guys these questions.
Dr. Branman: I know. Right. I mean, we’re people, too. And so, I think any physician should welcome any questions that you have about them, because they should feel confident enough to say, “Hey, I’ve already got the qualifications and I’m happy to share those questions with you.” And the questions would be, “How many of these procedures have you done? Do you do them on a regular basis? Are you board-certified in the type of procedures you do?” So if I do cosmetic surgery, I should be board-certified in cosmetic surgery. If I do plastic surgery, I should be board-certified in plastic surgery.
Female host: And a lot of people don’t know those two things are different.
Dr. Branman: And a lot of people don’t know those two things are different. There’s a lot of overlap. But I think you should be board-certified in the type of procedures that you’re performing. You should specifically ask that doctor, “Are you a board-certified cosmetic surgeon? Because you’re gonna do cosmetic surgery on me.”
Female host: Yeah. It should be on their website and everything as well.
Dr. Branman: It should be on their website. Their secretaries, when you first call in, should be able to tell you that. I mean, it’s really just a basic starting point before you go in and have any surgery.
Female host: Right, very good. Ask if they’re board-certified. Let’s talk about the facility now, because you want to be sure that that is up to standards.
Dr. Branman: Oh, absolutely. Yeah, and that’s a whole other thing. Most hospitals, I would say the majority of hospitals, are review-certified. So if your physician is…or your doctor is doing the procedures in a hospital I think that’s fine. And a lot of times they’ll be doing them in an outpatient surgery center, too, not in their office, and those are all certified. I think, when it comes to the in-office procedures, that’s where you have to be careful. So if your doctor is doing the surgery in their office, they should be certified by one of the national certifying agencies: AAAHC, JCo, Huat HC [SP]. These are certifying bodies that nationally have a certain set of standards that the physician needs to adhere to. And it tells you that that facility has met those standards, and you can feel rest assured that you’re going into a certified facility.
Female host: Right. Because, I mean, complications are rare, but they do happen, and you wanna know, if something, you know, doesn’t happen like it’s supposed to, you guys can take care of it.
Dr. Branman: Number one, you wanna know that a complication, if it occurs, can be taken care of appropriately. Number two, you wanna know that the facility itself is set up in such a way that it limits the number of complications, and it limits the problems that can occur in surgery.
Female host: Right, okay, very good. New year, what are you seeing in the office right now?
Dr. Branman: Oh, we’re starting to see…well, we’re starting to see breast augmentation again. It’s picking up because people are getting ready for spring and summer. I know it’s freezing outside, but everybody’s starting to think about that. And we’re seeing a number of face lifts and laser resurfacing, because a lot of patients really wanna get that laser resurfacing done before the summer hits and before it gets really sunny out there.
Female host: Right, yeah. And if you are thinking about something like breast augmentation, you wanna be sure to, you know, have all of your recovery done before it’s ever time to get out in that bathing suit. So this is a good time for it.
Dr. Branman: Absolutely, absolutely. So this is a good time.
Female host: Very good. All right, let’s put up the information, of course, about Dr. Rhys Branman, of course, and Cosmetic Surgery Center. Certified, certification–
Dr. Branman: Certified, board-certified, all that stuff, there you go.
Female host: You name it, that’s right, you’ll be safe there. There’s the information: littlerockcosmeticsurgery.com. And don’t be afraid to ask the questions, right?
Dr. Branman: Ask the questions, don’t be afraid.
Female host: You said, “Why is everybody so scared of some doctors?”
Dr. Branman: Yeah, your physician should be very approachable.
Female host: There you go. Thank you. You are…we appreciate you being here! Thank you, Dr. Branman.
Dr. Branman: Good seeing you.
