What's the point of the European Board of Orthodontics?

I write this on a cramped return flight from Athens, where I have just had the pleasure of sitting the exam for provisional membership of the European Board of Orthodontics (EBO). This came hot on the heels of the Intercollegiate Specialty Fellowship Exam, which I sat at the culmination of 5 years of orthodontic training, some 3 weeks ago.

When consenting the EBO patients for use of their records, I informed them that ‘I had in fact completed all the orthodontic exams that the UK had to offer, and was on the search for even more challenges’. This was met with general bemusement because few people, not least my patients, could understand why one would subject themselves to further pressure and invite more scrutiny into the quality of their professional work.

So, why sit the EBO? Well firstly, because it's there to be done, and there will always be some of us that enjoy challenge for its own sake. I accept this will not be a compelling argument for those not orientated in this way.