The creation of Boards fundamentally altered the American medical landscape and transformed the process of educating physicians. The American Board of Surgery, founded in 1937, epitomized this role. It established expectations, implemented an inspection system to enforce those standards, and ultimately collaborated with other professional organizations to create the Residency Review Committee that endures today. Using surgery as an example, we show how the appeal of board certification imbued Boards with the power and authority to reshape graduate medical education in their image in post-World War II America.