Footnotes - Fall 2022 - 15

AN ABFAS PERSPECTIVE: NOTES ON BOARD
CERTIFICATION, PRACTICE, AND MENTORSHIP
WITH DR. MICHELLE BUTTERWORTH
By Jeneen Elagha, TUSPM Class of 2024
GOING FOR HOME PLATE
The influence to become ABFAS
Board Certified, Dr. Butterworth
says, was through the surgery
department at PCPM. " We just
had some great teachers and
clinicians, and it really brought
out that side of the field to me.
I found it just fascinating...
and I got very interested in the
academic side of things through
them. " In addition to the surgical
faculty in school, Dr. Butterworth
also took the opportunity to learn
from attendings at Presbyterian
during her residency, which was
" a powerful surgical residency
at that time... they were all my
mentors. "
That mentorship paved the way
for Dr. Butterworth to grow in
her practice, as well as expand
into the lecture track. To date,
Dr. Butterworth has given
over two hundred academic
lectures at various conferences
and meetings across the
country. When the time came to
decide whether she wanted to
pursue Board Certification, Dr.
Butterworth says it was a nobrainer:
" everyone knew this was
the board that you trusted that
credentialed you... you've already
made it that far. You've graduated
school, you've graduated
residency, you've passed all of
your exams to that point. You're
on third base already; why not go
for home plate, why not score? "
THE IMPORTANCE OF ABFAS
BOARD CERTIFICATION
The requirements for ABFAS
Board Certification were, she
found, very reflective of the
standard that ABFAS seeks to
uphold. A standout requirement
is a certain diversity in surgical
cases that has to be met, a total
caseload of 65 surgical cases,
and seven years to meet those
numbers after graduating from
residency. Dr. Butterworth tells
me that, despite living and
practicing in a rural community,
this was not a challenge too
daunting to achieve.
" I became certified in foot
surgery in 2003... and got RRA
(reconstructive rearfoot and
ankle) certified in 2006, " says
Dr. Butterworth. " It took me four
years to compile the cases and
diversity that was required [to
become certified in foot surgery]. "
She also details how important
ABFAS Board Certification
is, not only to herself and her
patients, but to the hospitals
FALL 2022
footnotes 15
Footnotes - Fall 2022

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