Editor: There is a hurricane brewing in the house of emergency medicine today. The hurricane was generated over the issue of certification and the process leading to board certification in emergency medicine. It is time that this problem be illuminated for the entire emergency community and not allowed to remain the hidden agenda of self-interest groups. It is the very self-interest groups themselves that are to be found at the heart of the storm. Of the roughly 30,000 emergency physicians, only a meager 12,000 are board certified, and only 4,000 of this group carry the elite classification of being board certified through residency training, therefore leaving the remaining work force as grandfathers or to be left to wander in the abyss without any classification other than second-class citizen or have-not…. Hopefully the continuing growth of emergency medicine as a specialty will include a credentialing process that is fair to all concerned. It would also be wonderful to be free of destructive political and economic pathways…. Above all, remember that board certification through whatever route you choose is no one-way ticket to paradise, just simply a survival tool in today's market. Certification has received more than its share of unnecessary importance in today's emergency medicine environment. Edward Cornett, DO