Doctor Listing Criteria
Our mission is to build the most trusted community around the entire journey one takes with any medical-beauty decision.
As such, it's our policy to only invite doctors to participate in Q&A and our local directories if they meet our professional policies for board certification and licensing in their specialties. This means you will not find doctors featured in Q&A and our local doctor directory listings who are obstetrician/gynecologists, family physicians, radiologists, or other non-core aesthetic physicians who offer cosmetic medical services.
The term "core aesthetic" is widely recognized as specialty areas of medical training, certification, and practice that require physicians to possess demonstrable knowledge associated with performing a variety of cosmetic procedures and diagnosing related conditions. While there may be excellent doctors from non-core specialties who can deliver cosmetic services in a safe manner, our community is not designed for them.
RealSelf Doctor Community Criteria
(1) A doctor must hold a designation from one of the following areas:
- Dermatologist
- Dermatologic surgeon
- Plastic surgeon
- Facial plastic surgeon
- Oculoplastic surgeon
- General surgeon
- Bariatric surgeon
- Ophthalmologist
- Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon
- Orthodontist
- Cosmetic Dentist *
*RealSelf does not recognize Cosmetic Dentistry as a specialty. Dentists within our Doctor Community must offer cosmetic dental services to join.
All doctors on RealSelf are limited to specific areas of discussion within their board-certifications or dental training (e.g. bariatric surgeons cannot participate in discussions about facelift surgery).
As used on RealSelf.com, the terms "board certified" and "board certification" refer only to medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy who have earned specialty certification from an ABMS member board or a recognized ABMS non-member board.
Credentials of international medical professionals practicing outside the U.S. and Canada shall be verified on a case by case basis.
(2) Good standing
RealSelf maintains its right to deny, suspend activity or entirely remove a doctor that meets the above-referenced criteria should they no longer maintain a good standing with state licensing agencies or boards (including the presence of open complaints ). Additionally, these actions may be taken should we have reason to believe that a doctor has misreported or misrepresented his or her qualifications, credentials, memberships, patient testimonials, etc or if their past license history or activity within RealSelf violates the professional standards of the RealSelf community. Since a doctor's standing with medical authorities is not easily attained, we ask members of the community to contact us to report problems.
(3) Abides by participation rules
RealSelf offers certified doctors a unique opportunity to help consumers make informed decisions. It's not a place for doctors to self-promote, thus, we do not allow postings that are commercially-motivated. Additionally, doctors who take part in Q&A and other means of participation on RealSelf.com (e.g. posting before and after photos) are expected to limit their involvement and discussion to procedures and topics related to the area(s) of expertise implied by their specialty designation. Example: a Cosmetic Dentist must refrain from discussing procedures, such as facelift surgery, and focus instead on discussing procedures core to their training such as teeth whitening and porcelain veneers.
(4) Active in the community
Upon meeting criteria 1-3, above, a doctor may join RealSelf and begin to participate. An active doctor has updated their profile page on RealSelf and answered at least one question posed by our community.
Specialty definitions
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* MD or DO who is certified in dermatology by the ABD, RCPSC or AOBD.
- Certification must be verified through the ABMS, RCPSC or AOBD.
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* MD or DO who meets the RealSelf criteria for designation as a "Dermatologist," and who is also a member of the ASDS or CSDS.
- Certification must be verified through the ABMS, RCPSC or AOBD. Membership must be verified through the ASDS or CSDS.
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* MD or DO who is certified in plastic surgery by the ABPS or RCPSC.**
- Board-eligible and candidate members of ASPS are eligible upon verification of candidate membership. Board certification must be completed within 1 year of joining RealSelf.
- Certification must be verified through the ABMS or RCPSC.
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* MD or DO who is certified in head & neck or facial plastic surgery by the ABFPRS, ABOto, AOBOOHNS, or RCPSC.
- Certification must be verified through the ABFPRS, ABMS, AOCOOHNS, or RCSPC.
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* MD or DO who meets the RealSelf criteria for designation as an "Ophthalmologist," and who has also completed an ASOPRS-approved fellowship or is an approved member of ASOPRS.
- Certification must be verified through the ABMS or RCPSC. Fellowship completion and/or membership must be verified through the ASOPRS..
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* MD or DO who is certified in general surgery by the ABS or RCPSC.
- Certification must be verified through the ABMS or RCPSC.
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* MD or DO who is certified in general surgery by the ABS or RCPSC.
- Must also be a Regular or International member of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery. Affiliate and/or Candidate members are not eligible unless board certification requirements are met.
- Certification must be verified through the ABMS or RCPSC and ASMBS.
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* MD or DO who is certified in ophthalmology by the ABO, AOCOOHNS or RCPSC.
- Certification must be verified through the ABMS, AOCOOHNS or RCPSC.
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* MD, DO, DDS or DMD who is certified as a Diplomate of the ABOMS
- Certification with the ABOMS must be provided by the doctor and can be obtained by contacting the ABOMS.
- This designation may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* DDS or DMD who offers cosmetic dental services.
- Licensure must be verified through state licensing boards
- This specialty may be selected by or on behalf of any actively licensed* DDS or DMD who limit their scope of work to orthodontic services, unless they have also completed specialty education in another dental specialty recognized by the American Dental Assocation.
- Completion of a orthodontic residency program
- Licensure must be verified through state licensing boards (except CA).
Multiple specialties
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Multiple specialties may be selected in the event that a physician is certified by ABMS member boards or recognized ABMS non-member boards in more than one of the following specialties:
- Plastic surgery
- Facial plastic surgery
- Dermatology
- Oculoplastic surgery
Directory listing
RealSelf Certified doctors may appear only in specialty directories that correspond with their specialty designation(s). Example: A physician designated exclusively as a Plastic Surgeon may not appear in the Facial Plastic Surgeon directory for his or her city.
Additionally, our cosmetic procedure directories list RealSelf Certified doctors based on their specialty designation(s). Example: A physician designated exclusively as a Facial Plastic Surgeon may not appear in the Breast Implants directory for his or her city.
Acronym definitions
MD - Medical Doctor
DO - Doctor of Osteopathy
AAD - American Academy of Dermatology
AAOMS - American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons
ABD - American Board of Dermatology
ABFPRS - American Board of Facial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery
ABMS - American Board of Medical Specialties
ABOMS - American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
ABOto - American Board of Otolaryngology
ABO - American Board of Ophthalmology
ABPS - American Board of Plastic Surgery
ABS - American Board of Surgery
AOBD - American Osteopathic Board of Dermatology
AOCD - American Osteopathic College of Dermatology
ASDS - American Society of Dermatologic Surgery
ASAPS - American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery
ASOPRS - American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
ASMBS - American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery
ASPS - American Society of Plastic Surgeons
CSDS - Canadian Society for Dermatologic Surgery
DDS - Doctor of Dental Surgery
DMD - Doctor of Dental Medicine
RCPSC - The Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada
ABMS Member Boards
The American Board of Dermatology
The American Board of Ophthalmology
The American Board of Otolaryngology
The American Board of Plastic Surgery
The American Board of Surgery
Recognized ABMS Non-Member Boards
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
American Board of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery
American Osteopathic Board of Dermatology
American Osteopathic Board of Otolaryngology - Head, Neck and Throat
RealSelf Doctor Listing Criteria may be updated or revised at any time, without notice, at the sole discretion of RealSelf.
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