History of NBOME

The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners was established in 1934 as the National Board of Examiners for Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons (NBEOPS), an independent, nongovernmental, nonprofit organization established to protect the public by providing the means to assess competencies for osteopathic medicine and related health care professions.

In celebration of our 75th anniversary, In the Public Trust: The History of NBOME 1934 – 2009 was published in 2009. The book, written by Betty Burnett, PhD, chronicles the milestones and benchmarks that have made us the respected organization we are today, both in the United States and internationally.

There is something sacred about the relationship between physician and patient. The basis of the relationship lies in the implicit trust placed in the physician by the patient. That trust stems from the belief that the physician is competent to practice medicine, and thus the public has come to inherently rely on jurisdictional regulatory agencies, licensing examinations, certifying boards, and hospitals to assure them that the physician is competent.

Frederick G. Meoli, DO, FACOS
NBOME's First Full-Time President and CEO 2002–2009, President 1999–2001