American Board of Preventive Medicine Reaffirms its Policy of Accommodation for Residents and Fellows Affected by COVID-19 Outbreak

Initial Certification –

February 10, 2022

American Board of Preventive Medicine Reaffirms its Policy of Accommodation for Residents and Fellows Affected by COVID-19 Outbreak
Chicago, IL, February 10, 2022: The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) announced today that it is reaffirming its Policy of Accommodation for Residents and Fellows affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. This policy was originally enacted by the ABPM in April of 2020.

In 2020, the ABPM cited its support of ACGME’s Guidance to Residency Programs in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and made accommodations for early graduations and truncated residency and/or fellowship training for physicians who would otherwise qualify to sit for the 2020 ABPM Initial Certification Exams.

The letters linked below specify the accommodations ABPM will make for affected residents and fellows:
- ABPM’s letter to Aerospace Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine residency directors
- ABPM’s letter to Addiction Medicine, Clinical Informatics, Medical Toxicology, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine fellowship directors
The Board is now extending the 2020 policy in response to the prolonged effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the emergence of several variants since 2020, and the continued potential disruption to the availability of residency and fellowship rotations that physicians may continue to face.

“The Board is reaffirming a policy that upholds the high standards of ABPM certification and recognizes the continued implications of COVID-19 for residency and fellowship training,” said Wendy E. Braund, MD, MPH, MSEd, FACPM. “Over the past two years, it has become clearer than ever that a skilled, dedicated Preventive Medicine physician workforce is critical to our nation’s health. By extending accommodations we are happy to reassure otherwise qualified physicians that they can meet the requirements for board certification.”

Program directors, residents, and fellows who have questions about the updated policies may contact ABPM directly at [email protected].

The ABPM is an ABMS Member Board. 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.