The Evolution of Physician Certification and the Canary in the Coal Mine

In an address before the American Academy of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology in 1908, Derrick T. Vail introduced the concept of using a peer-review system to evaluate the education, training, and qualifications of medical specialists and advocated for the development of a specialty board that would oversee this process. His foresight served as the springboard for the genesis of the specialty board movement in the United States and led to the establishment of the American Board for Ophthalmic Examinations, now the American Board of Ophthalmology,1 in 1916