To the Editor:

I think the members of the American Board of Family Medicine must have forgotten what it’s like to work 12-hour days, make hospital rounds, see 35 to 40 patients in the office, dictate charts, answer patient calls, respond to nursing home faxes and get home in time to say good night to your family. Add the issues of declining reimbursements, escalating overhead costs and rising malpractice premiums, and you’ve got a formula for disaster.

I became board certified in 1983 and recertified in 1990 and 1997, but I have opted not to pursue MOC under the new guidelines because of time constraints. The best way I can serve my patients is to continue to get CME hours that I deem pertinent to my practice, work long hours and be available to meet my patients’ needs, and refer them to the appropriate specialist for those problems beyond my abilities.