Update: Dr. Ralph Abraham issued a letter in response to this story. You can read it below.
Clarification: This story has been updated to further clarify the distinction between a medical license and board certification.
Louisiana’s top public health physician is described in multiple state communications as a family medicine physician, but he is not listed as board-certified in the specialty.
In statements on the Louisiana Department of Health and Gov. Jeff Landry’s websites, Surgeon General Dr. Ralph Abraham, who holds an MD from LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport, is described as a family medicine physician.
Abraham’s official health department biography states that “Doc is a practicing family medicine physician in Richland Parish and a former three term [sic] Congressman for Louisiana’s 5th Congressional District.” Similar language is found in a press release from the governor’s office, his cabinet biography, and a newsletter for Medicaid providers. His bio on X describes him as a “rural family physician.”
Board certification is not required for a medical license. The American Board of Physician Specialities describes it as an extra accreditation, but not required to practice medicine.
Abraham is listed on the State Board of Medical Examiner’s website as an MD, but not listed as specializing in family medicine. Nor is he listed as board-certified on the online portal of the American Board of Family Medicine, the credentialing body for all family medicine physicians.
He’s not registered with the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians either, the organization told WWNO/WRKF.
Abraham’s health department bio does not say that he earned a board certification. Instead, it says he practiced veterinary medicine for 10 years “before eventually seeking his Medical Doctor degree, which he earned at the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport.”
But Dr. Rick Streiffer said he and other board-certified family medicine physicians are worried people might think Abraham is also board-certified when he appears not to be.
He said family medicine is a distinct specialty, and not a general category akin to a general practitioner. Streiffer, the founding chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at Tulane University and former dean of the College of Community Health Sciences at the University of Alabama, said he also looked up Abraham’s credentials and could find no evidence that he became board-certified by the ABFM.
He said there’s been confusion in the past between the colloquial way a physician might call themselves a family doctor, and the term family medicine physician — which he says is used for the specialty as recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. He said some physicians might use the terms interchangeably, but he argued a family medicine physician is generally recognized in the medical community to be someone who’s completed training in the specialty of family medicine.
“It's a rigorous discipline with difficult, arguably the most challenging residencies, because in three years you work from birth through death. Anything that comes into your office can be your responsibility,” Streiffer said.
Like other specialties, including pediatrics or obstetrics and gynecology, physicians have to meet additional criteria beyond what’s required to earn a general medical license — including a residency and exam — in order to earn board certification in family medicine.
To keep that certification, they have to undergo ongoing education and stay up to date on medical advancements and evidence-based science, including research on infectious diseases, said Dr. Vincent Shaw, the president of the Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians.
The Louisiana Department of Health did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Family medicine has been a distinct specialty for decades. The American Board of Family Medicine dates back to 1969 and it sets the education and training standards for all family medicine doctors. According to the board, certification demonstrates a “commitment to being held accountable to this higher standard of care” and requires physicians to meet “the standards for ethics and professionalism set by their peers.”
Since being named Louisiana's health secretary and then its first surgeon general, Abraham has ended the department’s efforts to combat infectious diseases through the promotion of vaccines. Beginning in October, the department banned the promotion of COVID, flu and mpox vaccines, as first reported by WWNO/WRKF and NPR. Last week, Abraham announced a ban on all vaccine promotion and events.
The Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians was among eight medical groups in Louisiana that signed a letter saying that “immunizations should not be politicized.”
Abraham and Deputy Surgeon General Dr. Wyche Coleman have repeated vaccine misinformation, and Abraham is also a supporter of President Donald Trump’s new health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and an anti-vaccine activist.
Coleman was a board-certified ophthalmologist from 2014 to 2024, according to the American Board of Ophthalmology, but is no longer certified.
