Chicago, IL, April 7, 2020: The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) announced today its newly-implemented policy regarding eligibility for residents and fellows whose training has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a letter to both residency and fellowship directors, ABPM confirmed its commitment to the rigorous requirements that form the foundation of its Specialty and Subspecialty Certification but recognized that now more than ever a skilled, energetic, and qualified physician workforce is critical to protect the health of our communities and our nation. Citing its support of the ACGME’s Guidance to Residency Programs in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic, for the 2020 Exam Cycle, ABPM will make accommodations for early graduations or truncated residency and/or fellowship training for physicians who would otherwise-qualify to sit for this year’s ABPM Initial Certification Exams.
The letters to the ABPM’s Specialty and Subspecialty Program Directors may be viewed at the following links:
“This policy of accommodation is designed to maintain the rigor of the ABPM’s training requirements while reassuring those residents and fellows who, through no fault of their own, have seen their training programs negatively impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, that they will be found eligible to sit for this year’s Initial Certification Exams ” said ABPM’s Board Chair, Hernando “Joe” Ortega, Jr., MD, MPH. “We appreciate the sacrifices being made by this year’s cohort of residents and fellows and feel strongly that those qualified physicians, many of whom are on the front lines fighting the spread of the COVID-19 virus, should not be penalized for those heroic efforts during this unprecedented pandemic.”
Program directors, residents, and fellows who have questions about the updated policies may contact the ABPM directly at [email protected].
The ABPM is a Member Board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Founded in 1948, ABPM works with the ABMS in the development of standards for the ongoing assessment and certification of over 12,000 physicians certified by the ABPM in the Specialties of Aerospace Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, and in the Subspecialties of Addiction Medicine, Clinical Informatics, Medical Toxicology and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine.