Earl J. Soileau, MD, a Family Medicine physician and clinical instructor with the Louisiana State University Health Services Center-New Orleans Family Medicine Residency Program at Memorial, was recently awarded recertification by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM).
"Board certification confers a standard of excellence in knowledge and practice to physicians who not only certify by an examination process, but who also work diligently on the maintenance of these skills during the seven-year cycle between examinations," said Larry Graham, Memorial's President and CEO.
A graduate of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans, Dr. Soileau completed his Family Medicine Residency at W.O. Moss Regional Hospital in Lake Charles, and a Fellowship in Adolescent Medicine at the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham.
The ABFM, one of 24 Member Boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties, is the second largest medical specialty board in the United States. Founded in 1969, it is a voluntary, not-for-profit, private organization whose purposes include improving the quality of medical care available to the public, establishing and maintaining standards of excellence in the specialty of Family Medicine, improving the standards of medical education for training in Family Medicine, and determining by evaluation the fitness of specialists in Family Medicine who apply for and hold certificates.
To achieve recertification by the ABFM, a family physician must verify the completion of 300 hours of acceptable continuing medical education over the past six years; possess a full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States; and successfully complete a one-day, written examination of cognitive knowledge and problem-solving abilities. This examination covers the disciplines of the specialty including, but not limited to adult medicine; care of newborns, infants, children, and adolescents; maternity and gynecological care; community medicine; care of the older patient; human behavior and mental health and care of the surgical patient.
