title: Special certification in physical medicine and rehabilitation: yesterday and tomorrow.
abstract: The Zeiter Lecture is given annually to honor Walter J. Zeiter, MD, the first executive director of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In this lecture, I discuss the certification process for specialists in physical medicine and rehabilitation. I look at the history of initial certification, discussing the origins of both the written and oral examinations. I trace the development of these examinations and comment on potential developments in the initial certification process. I discuss the development of maintenance of certification in organized medicine and physiatry and comment on its future direction in physiatry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Barry S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000639:trends; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000639:trends; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D010810:Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States