“With MOC, we have the tools to stand strong.”
Dr. McKalip believes maintaining a standard of care is the responsibility of a profession. “The profession of Neurosurgery has taken this obligation seriously and has created and implemented a strenuous Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program,” he explained. “The program assures that certified Neurosurgeons provide state-of-the-art care, are monitored by their peers for deficiencies and are familiar with the latest evidence-based care.”
His appreciation for the MOC program comes from a sincere desire to preserve patient trust in the profession. “An active program of maintaining certification is critical if we wish to remain as a profession our patients can trust,” he points out. “It is crucial also if we wish to maintain our independent status as a profession.” Dr. McKalip thinks failure to do so invites excessive and coercive regulation from government and insurance companies and will do little to improve patient care.
Now in his third year of his second three-year mini-cycle for the American Board of Neurological Surgery, Dr. McKalip is working to ensure he has enough continuing medical education (CME) credits, can submit the necessary case data and prepare for the written exam. “I am impressed that the Board leadership considered my requests to streamline the data for my case submissions. It is this kind of responsiveness that can keep MOC successful.”
Dr. McKalip supports his Board’s efforts to promote quality through its MOC program as an alternative to third party programs and the best way to insist on the highest performance from his colleagues. He believes that with a strong MOC program the profession is empowered to maintain its own quality standards. “Americans will respect this and will know that if we maintain our own quality, they can look to their doctor for quality care, rather than government and insurance companies,” he says. “That means we must take a stand based on our MOC programs and fight against intrusion into the patient-physician relationship by third parties. With MOC we have the tools to stand strong.”
Dr. McKalip holds general board certification in Neurological Surgery from the American Board of Neurological Surgery. He has been in practice for 12 years. Dr. McKalip is a solo practice Neurological Surgeon in St. Petersburg, FL and serves on the Board of the Florida Medical Association and Florida Neurosurgical Society. He earned his medical degree from the University of South Florida, Tampa and trained in Neurosurgery at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
ABMS Maintenance of Certification® (MOC) is a professional development program for physicians who are certified by one of the 24 ABMS Member Boards. The MOC program standards are set by ABMS and independently implemented by the Member Boards. MOC promotes continuous lifelong learning and self assessment to better meet patient, provider and payer expectations for quality care.
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