ABIM Elects Shalender Bhasin, MD, Chair of its Subspecialty Board on Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism

July 01, 2011 (PRLEAP.COM) Health News
(Philadelphia, PA), Shalender Bhasin, MD, Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, and Chief of the Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Nutrition at Boston Medical Center, has been named Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Subspecialty Board on Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism. As such, he becomes the subspecialty board's representative to ABIM's Board of Directors. Dr. Bhasin has been a member of the Subspecialty Board on Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism since 2005. ABIM sets the standards and certifies physicians practicing in internal medicine and its subspecialties who possess the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to provide high quality care.

The ABIM Board of Directors, composed of physicians who are board certified in internal medicine or one of its subspecialties, guides ABIM's overall mission and direction as it works to improve health care quality. All ABIM Directors participate in ABIM's Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. MOC recognizes that what was standard treatment a decade ago may have changed and that the public needs a process to know if their physicians have kept up-to-date in their field.

ABIM's subspecialty boards are composed of experts in both academic medicine and practice, all of whom must be ABIM certified in their particular subspecialty. Members of these boards apply their individual and collective knowledge toward the development of the policies, standards and requirements for certification and Maintenance of Certification in their subspecialty, with special focus on developing the cognitive exam that physicians must take to certify or maintain their certification in that field. The exam assesses essential diagnostic reasoning skills, evaluating how well a doctor can put together the patient's story and symptoms, make the right diagnosis and provide the appropriate care. Dr. Bhasin is board certified in internal medicine and in endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism.

"Shalender is a leader in the field of endocrinology at every level – clinical care, research and teaching. As Chair of the Subspecialty Board on Endocrinology, he will bring the insight of his years of experience in each of these arenas to help define the competencies needed for board certification in endocrinology," said Christine K. Cassel, MD, ABIM's President and CEO.

Dr. Bhasin is an internationally recognized reproductive endocrinologist with expertise in function promoting anabolic therapies, androgen biology and clinical trials of testosterone. He currently serves as the Chair of the Endocrine Society's Clinical Guidelines Subcommittee and the Director of the Boston Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center for Function Promoting Therapies. He chaired the Endocrine Society's Expert Panel for the development of Guidelines for Testosterone Therapy.

After obtaining his medical education at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, Dr. Bhasin received his residency training at Northwestern University Medical School and fellowship training in Endocrinology and Nutrition at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California

For media inquiries, contact Lorie Slass at 215-399-4005.

About ABIM
For 75 years, Certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has stood for the highest standard in internal medicine and its 19 subspecialties and has meant that internists have demonstrated – to their peers and to the public – that they have the clinical judgment, skills and attitudes essential for the delivery of excellent patient care. ABIM is not a membership society, but a non-profit, independent evaluation organization. Our accountability is both to the profession of medicine and to the public. ABIM is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties. For additional updates, follow ABIM on Facebook.