Valerie M. Parisi, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., was elected the 35th chair of the American Board of Medical Specialties Board of Directors at its April 24 meeting, held in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Parisi most recently served as ABMS BOD chair-elect. She has been a member of the ABMS Board and Executive Committee since 2009, and served as secretary-treasurer from 2009 to 2012. She has chaired and served as a member of numerous ABMS committees, including the Research and Education Committee, the Finance and Audit Committee, the Governance Committee, and the Database and Information Technology Advisory Committee.
Since 2010, she has served as the dean of the Wayne State University School of Medicine, the nation's largest single-campus medical school. From 2010 to 2012, Dr. Parisi served as co-chair of the Liaison Committee for Medical Education, which accredits medical schools in the United States and Canada. She was director of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and a director of ABOG from 1998 to 2008. She is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology with a subspecialty certificate in Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and is meeting Maintenance of Certification requirements.
"Valerie Parisi is a proven leader who shares ABMS' mission to improve the quality of health care through setting professional standards for lifelong certification in partnership with our member boards," said Lois Margaret Nora, M.D., J.D., M.B.A., president and chief executive officer of the ABMS. "As a national leader in medical education as well as in the evaluation and certification of physicians, she is well prepared to lead the implementation of ABMS' programs for continuing professional development for board-certified physicians."
Dr. Parisi succeeds Thomas E. Norris, M.D., who served as chair from 2012 to 2014. He noted that, "Valerie's medical leadership in many roles and record of outstanding contributions to ABMS will serve the member boards well as we focus on increasing and demonstrating the value we bring to those we serve."
Dr. Parisi received her medical degree from Brown University, where she was enrolled in the institution's first seven-year medical degree class. She received her master's of public health degree in Maternal and Child Health from the University of California-Berkeley School of Public Health and her master's of business administration degree from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler School of Business. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and her fellowship training in maternal and fetal medicine at the University of Wisconsin Center for Health Sciences.
For 80 years, the American Board of Medical Specialties has been a leading not-for-profit organization overseeing physician certification in the United States. It assists its 24 member boards in their efforts to develop and implement educational and professional standards for the evaluation, assessment and certification of physician specialists. Member boards provide physician certification information to ABMS for its certification verification service programs. The ABMS Maintenance of Certification® program engages more than 450,000 physicians in MOC activities and is an evolution of ABMS Member Board Certification. ABMS is recognized by the key health care credentialing accreditation entities as a primary equivalent source of board certification data for medical specialists. Patients can find out for free if their physician is ABMS member board certified by visitingwww.CertificationMatters.org or calling toll-free 1-866-ASK-ABMS. For more information about ABMS, visit www.abms.org or call 312-436-2600.
The 24 member boards that comprise the ABMS member boards community and certify more than 800,000 physicians include the American Board of Allergy and Immunology, American Board of Anesthesiology, American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery, American Board of Dermatology, American Board of Emergency Medicine, American Board of Family Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Medical Genetics, American Board of Neurological Surgery, American Board of Nuclear Medicine, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Board of Ophthalmology, American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, American Board of Otolaryngology, American Board of Pathology, American Board of Pediatrics, American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, American Board of Plastic Surgery, American Board of Preventive Medicine, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, American Board of Radiology, American Board of Surgery, American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Urology.