No more Florida boards?

[Babnik]

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I have heard from a DS professor that they will be eliminating Florida board examinations and replacing them with the NERB. Did anyone else hear about this and know if its really happening?

If this is true, Fl could be the next Cali in terms of saturation

 

[omaralt]

not true. what they're referring to is that the FL exam is now a NERB exam. it's administered by the NERB but still graded by the FL dept of health. what that means for us is that we now qualify for NERB status, which means we can practice in states that accept NERB. however, to practice in FL, you still need to take the FL NERB exam. they just didnt want the headache of running the exam, so they outsourced it to NERB

 

[dentista123]

not true. what they're referring to is that the FL exam is now a NERB exam. it's administered by the NERB but still graded by the FL dept of health. what that means for us is that we now qualify for NERB status, which means we can practice in states that accept NERB. however, to practice in FL, you still need to take the FL NERB exam. they just didnt want the headache of running the exam, so they outsourced it to NERB

It sounds like this can only decrease the amount of FL dentists.

 

[omaralt]

It sounds like this can only decrease the amount of FL dentists.

maybe.. the only real change is that FL licensed dentists can go work in any NERB state, so i guess ya, we have more options to go to now, which could lower the amount of dentists here.

 

[mike3kgt]

It sounds like this can only decrease the amount of FL dentists.

No, it's a different exam now than used to be but for all intensive purposes, it serves the same purpose: to protect the public in the state of FL.

Now one could argue how protecting the public means FL Boards makes it harder for non-Florida trained dentists to qualify for licensure. However, one argument is that it is to prevent dentists from only spending 2-3 months during the winter time and then leaving all the rest of the year, leaving the patients without consistency in their dental home.

FL Board is serious stuff, very difficult, but not much different from the NERB these days. When I took it, it was traditional FL Board exam, but administered by the NERB with Florida examiners. Now, it's a NERB exam administered by NERB with FL examiners. Don't expect that to change any time soon.

 

[DrJeff]

Until there is a true national licensure exam, the old addage about one's success or failure of the Florida board exam "it's 50% about your clinical skills and 50% about where your return address is" 😉 will likely hold true

 

[jmac44]

At the last FDA meeting, the FL Board exam was discussed at length because the current state surgeon general wants more dentists and is pushing for no FL Board and possibly accepting a one year residency or even licensing anyone who has graduated from an accredited dental school. It was apparently in some legislation at one point but was successfully removed after some lobbying. The FDA is very against doing away with the FL board exam but it was interesting to hear about none the less. I'm not saying it is happening soon, but it is being kicked around.

 

[doc toothache]

No, it's a different exam now than used to be but for all intensive purposes, it serves the same purpose: to protect the public in the state of FL. However, one argument is that it is to prevent dentists from only spending 2-3 months during the winter time and then leaving all the rest of the year, leaving the patients without consistency in their dental home.

You mean not unlike practicing dentistry in an established practice and leaving in 2-3 months because a better opportunity came along. Reciprocity is a concept that is still somewhat foreign to dental boards and looking at the experience of pharmacy boards it does not appears that they have failed in "protect(ing) the public".