While I have been asked, “Really? Another board certification?” …to me the path was unquestionably clear. Having studied mind/body medicine in trainings and practice for years, fellowship and board-certification allowed me to broaden my expertise in Integrative Medicine and open doors to expand my practice of medicine. In a practical sense, I’ve gained an abundance of knowledge and resources that my fellow physicians want to hear about, and most importantly, that my patients and families need.
Sitting for the Integrative Medicine Boards did pose some challenges. With more certifications comes more investment, in both time and money. As a pediatrician in practice for decades, it was a challenge to re-learn adult medicine in broad strokes to be able to assimilate integrative practices with conventional medicine for all people and for all conditions. I took time off work as staycation to study rigorously, as I knew I needed to in order to pass. Another challenge is what comes next? Having accomplished becoming triple-boarded in Pediatrics, Child Abuse Pediatrics, and Integrative Medicine, it’s now time to really get to work! My vision is as vast as the field itself, as I join other Integrative Medicine practitioners wishing to change the practice of medicine as we know it, with all the barriers, gaps, and limitations interfering with whole health and true healing.
At the end of the day, sitting for the Integrative Medicine Boards has simply made me a better physician. To honor passing the boards, I chose to bring it all together in ceremony with symbols of both conventional practice, and elements of integrative ways, linked with candles moving me forward on a path lighted by knowledge, purpose, and opportunity.
In gratitude,
Mandy O’Hara, MD, MPH, FAAP, ABOIM