Hair Restoration Society Credentialing

I read on a doctor’s resume that he is a member of the International Society of Follicular Unit Extraction Surgery. Can you shed light on the value of this society on the doctor’s resume?

In the past, to develop expertise that is unearned, a doctor would create a society and possibly become its only member. That could make him/her the founder of the society, president of it, director or it, or whatever he/she chooses to be. For the less than knowledgeable buyer, the name of the society implies, as is here, some international expertise, some special training and certification, some special recognition by peers in the industry (like an Academy Award Society). The International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (with hundreds of member physicians) has looked at creative societies with disdain and so should the buyer. There is a suggestion of a ‘slight of hand’ when one invents expertise for themselves or a group of like physicians. As the inventor of the follicular unit extraction technology and the doctor who published the authoritative article in the field, I was never invited to join that society, speak before it, or review contributions by its members in the field. I would find that strange if it were a legitimate society.

Expertise should be earned. Inventiveness is something that should be published or proven. Put the doctor and his society to that test and you will see if it meets this criteria.