What is a medical specialty, subspecialty, and focused practice?
A medical specialty is the area of medicine where a doctor is an expert, such as pediatrics (care of children). A subspecialty is expertise in part of that same area, such as pediatric dermatology (care of a child’s skin).
“Focused practice” shows that a board certified doctor has additional expertise within a special area of medicine. Examples include a doctor working in a hospital or with specific medical conditions or procedures, such as pediatric neurological surgery (surgical care of a child’s brain).
Learn more about ABMS board certification.
