It was a big deal for me in an otherwise desultory career to be selected among the first 200 vascular surgeons to take the written board exam in vascular surgery when it was offered for the first time in 1984. I have certificate No. 79. Our new partner in our group has certificate No. 13,000-something. I recertified every 10 years thereafter, the last time, after considerable internal debate, in 2016, when I was 71 years old. I jokingly told friends that my certificate