Infrastructure fragmentation of their organizations into more and more subspecialty groups. ACOFP drew a line in the sand and declared it would not tolerate any more fragmentation of family practice. The stand came too late in the 1980s to stop the exit of those in emergency medicine, but sports medicine, geriatric medicine, and adolescent medicine would be the focal points for the eventual resolution of this problem. Relations between the long-standing colleges and the emerging academies became tense and estranged during these difficult years. The AOA Council on Postdoctoral Training would finally resolve the issue by awarding a Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ). The process would involve a conjoint board that was made up of representatives from all the involved colleges and academies that administered this certificate. The American Board of Osteopathic Family Physicians would administer the examination to family practice physicians who were proficient in sports medicine, geriatric medicine, and adolescent medicine. The Colleges of Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, and Physical Medicine Rehabilitation would also administer the exams to their members. Later, the American Academy of Osteopathy (AAO) would attempt to be the only body to certify osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM). This move meant that ACOFP might lose the ability to issue certification on the proficiency of OMM. In a landmark 1997 move to protect its members from further loss of privileges, ACOFP reissued new certificates to all certified osteopathic family physicians, adding the words ACOFP: OUR CONTINUING HISTORY 51 Rudolph J. Wolf, DO, FACOFP, ACOFP president 1985–1986, recalls the events that took place before, during, and after his presidency: “In 1982–1983, the internists prepared documents for the establishment of a subspecialty certification in geriatrics. At the same time, ACOFP was also preparing similar documents. When the AOA Council on Postdoctoral Training became aware of this, an arrangement was agreed upon by which both colleges would ‘escrow’ the documents and not bring them up without joint consultation. During my presidency, it came to my attention that the internists were secretly going to resurrect their documents and try an end run through the House of Delegates. This would have produced a blood bath; the blood coming from the ‘internalist.’ At my urging and direction, a joint committee was established by ACOFP and ACOI to resolve this issue. The end of this dispute was the establishment of a joint Certificate of Proficiency in Geriatrics to be administered by the exam boards of each college. This took over two years of negotiations, collaboration, and ‘politician.’ I feel this was a major attempt to weaken ACOFP, and under my watch it came to light and ACOFP did a great job in protecting the turf of the family physician.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjI2NjI=