For Immediate Release:
June 12, 2000

CONTACT: David Ong
(916) 734-9040

STEVENSON TAPPED FOR TWO PROMINENT PLASTIC SURGERY POSITIONS

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.)— Thomas R. Stevenson, chief of the UC Davis Division of Plastic Surgery, was recently elected to two prominent positions in his medical specialty: as a director on the American Board of Plastic Surgery and as president of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons.

The American Board of Plastic Surgery is one of 24 member boards, each representing a different specialty, of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). The ABMS aims to maintain and improve the quality of medical care in the United States by assisting its member boards in developing and using professional and educational standards for the evaluation and certification of physician specialists.

Stevenson is one of the three directors elected this year to the American Board of Plastic Surgery. A total of 20 directors serve on the board. Three are elected every year, and each serves a six-year term. Candidates for the director position had to be nominated by a professional society. Stevenson was nominated by the Association of Academic Chairmen of Plastic Surgery and the Plastic Surgery Educational Foundation.

The American Board of Plastic Surgery evaluates physician candidates seeking certification. It determines whether candidates have received appropriate preparation in approved residency training programs in accordance with established educational standards, evaluates candidates with comprehensive examinations, and certifies those candidates who have satisfied the board's requirements. There are about 4,500 board-certified plastic surgeons in the United States. The board also is responsible for negotiating with other specialty boards regarding scope-of-care issues.

Stevenson was elected to a one-year term as president of the California Society of Plastic Surgeons at the organization's annual meeting on May 28. With 400 members, the group is the largest such society in the United States.

Copies of all news releases from UC Davis Health System are available on the web at http://news.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.

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