Exam Content
The ABPM certification exam is the final step in the initial certification process. By taking and passing the certification exam, candidates demonstrate their mastery of the specialty or subspecialty subject matter.
Exam Format
Specialties
| Number of Questions | Time Limit | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aerospace Medicine | 200 questions delivered in four, one-hour time blocks | 4 hours and 30 minutes | Includes a 15-minute tutorial and a 15-minute break |
| Occupational & Environmental Medicine | 200 questions delivered in four, one-hour time blocks | 4 hours and 30 minutes | Includes a 15-minute tutorial and a 15-minute break |
| Public Health & General Preventive Medicine | 200 questions delivered in four, one-hour time blocks | 4 hours and 30 minutes | Includes a 15-minute tutorial and a 15-minute break |
Subspecialties
| Number of Questions | Time Limit | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addiction Medicine | 200 questions delivered in four, one-hour time blocks | Four hours and 30 minutes | Includes a 15-minute tutorial and a 15-minute break |
| Clinical Informatics | 200 questions delivered in four, one-hour time blocks | Four hours and 30 minutes | Includes a 15-minute tutorial and a 15-minute break |
| Healthcare Administration, Leadership, & Management | 180 questions delivered in four, 50-minute blocks | Four hours and 30 minutes | Includes three 15-minute breaks and 25 minutes for accessory exam tasks (NDA, tutorial, survey) |
| Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine | 150 questions delivered in three, one-hour blocks | Three hours and 30 minutes | Includes a 15-minute tutorial and a 15-minute break |
Exam Questions
Examination questions are multiple-choice, single-best-answer with four or five possible responses. Questions may contain a clinical vignette, an experimental or epidemiological observation, a definition or classification, an administrative problem, an application of a principle or regulation, or any situation which may be faced by a specialist in practice.
All questions are weighted equally. You will find it to your advantage to answer all questions. There is no penalty for an incorrect answer, i.e., wrong answers are not subtracted from right answers and there is no benefit to leaving a question unanswered.
All initial certification exams are closed-book.
You may answer the questions in each block in any order, review your responses, and change your answers within the time allowed to answer questions in that block. After you exit the block or when time expires, you can neither review questions nor change your answers in that block.
Exam Content Outline Overview
Each outline is intended to describe the scope of the field; the scope of the respective examination is essentially congruent. However, the statement of scope does not reflect the appropriate weight of any given item as determined by importance or frequency in practice. Thus, items of fundamental importance and those with less frequent application or more peripheral concern appear to be equivalent in the outline.
The distribution of the exam questions is weighted in favor of relevance to actual practice; however, candidates who are preparing to represent themselves as medical specialists must recognize that they are responsible for knowledge and skills in the preponderant content not only of their day-to-day practice but also of the breadth of their chosen specialty field. Examinations do not stress esoterica, but they do require examinees to demonstrate sound understanding of the entire specialty. The primary purpose of these outlines is to describe the extent of each specialty.
Specialty Certification Exam Content Outlines
Each specialty initial certification examination includes 50 questions based on the core preventive medicine content outline.
Subspecialty Certification Exam Content Outlines
Subspecialty exams do not include a core preventive medicine component; all content is subspecialty-specific.
- Aerospace Medicine Association (AsMA)
- American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM)
- American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM)
- American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM)
- American College of Academic Addiction Medicine (ACAAM)
- American Informatics Association (AMIA)
- Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS)
Exam Preparation Resources
The ABPM does not endorse specific study materials. Candidates should contact their training programs and the relevant specialty societies for study material.