Dr. Stephen Britt, chief resident, left, and Dr. Joe Cofer perform a liver resectioning at Erlanger as Meharry medical student Owen McFarlane, right, watches in this file photo.
Chattanooga surgeon Joe CoferJoe Cofer sees his new gig as a last line of defense for the American public.
A Chattanooga-based general surgeon, Cofer is vice chairman-elect of the American Board of Surgeons, the panel that administers final written and oral exams for the nation’s surgical residents.
In an interview Monday, Cofer said board certification represents the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” across the entire medical field.
“Most surgeons want to be the best,” Cofer said. “Getting board certified is the final stand.”
After medical school, the 60-year-old Cofer said, future surgeons begin residency programs that take a minimum of five years to complete. Then comes board certification — a rigorous combination of written tests and three 30-minute oral exams.
“Patients should always ask if their doctor is board-certified,” Cofer said. “We’re looking to see if they’re safe surgeons.”
Out of 1,362 applicants for general surgery board certification, 25 percent did not make the cut last year, according to Christine Shiffer, a spokeswoman for the board.
Residents must pass the written portion first, so the oral exam makes or breaks a surgical candidate.
Cofer explained how it works: Two board members will present a young resident with several clinical situations, such as a 55-year-old woman with a lump in her left breast, and what surgical procedures might be considered.
“Then we say, ‘Take it from there,'” Cofer said. “We’ll ask, ‘What kind of procedure? What kind of incision?’ If they can’t do it, we don’t want our certificate on their wall.”
A general surgeon at Erlanger-affiliated University Surgical Associates in Chattanooga, Cofer will serve as the American Board of Surgeons vice chairman beginning next July for the 2012-13 fiscal year, followed by a term as chairman for 2013-14.
Cofer has held a spot on the Philadelphia-based national board since 2007, but as a higher-up, he’ll now decide board policy and “make sure the exams are fair.”
“To be elected chairman is an honor more than a power thing,” he said. “All the members draw enough water that any of them can be chair.”
Cofer serves as a surgery residency program director for the University of Tennessee College of Health Sciences. He also is chairman of “Project Access,” a community outreach program that helps low-income Hamilton County families who aren’t eligible for insurance or other coverage, such as TennCare.
Rae Bond, executive director of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society, said Cofer’s election fits with years of “high-quality medical education and training for surgeons.”
“This position simply expands his medical leadership to a national level,” Bond said.
Contact staff writer Chris Carroll at ccarroll@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6610.