Rand Paul Not a Certified Doctor, Board Says

Rand Paul, who touts his career as a Kentucky eye doctor as part of his outsider credentials in his campaign for US Senate, isn't certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, his profession's leading group. The Louisville Courier-Journal broke the news Sunday, in what Paul calls "a personal assault on my ability to make a living." Paul told the AP yesterday that he left the group because he objected to its recertification policy, and formed his own rival certification board more than a decade ago.

That board, however, isn't recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. Paul shrugs that off. "Do you think that they're going to recognize a competitor?" According to the ABO, less than 5% of US ophthamologists aren't registered with it. "You vilify me and make it sound, 'Oh, there's something wrong with him as a physician because he chose not to register," Paul said, adding that he was certified by the ABO until the late-'90s, but quit in protest because it exempts older ophthalmologists from recertification, which he likened it to members of Congress passing laws that don't apply to themselves. (More Rand Paul stories.)