American Board of
Preventive Medicine

Public Health and General Preventive Medicine

To apply, review the general requirements below and choose a pathway. Be sure to read the pathway’s requirements before clicking “Apply Now.”

Overview

Public health and general preventive medicine focuses on promoting health, preventing disease, and managing the health of communities and defined populations. These practitioners combine population-based public health skills with knowledge of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention-oriented clinical practice in a wide variety of settings.

General Requirements

  • Medical License – An unrestricted and currently valid license(s) to practice medicine in a State, the District of Columbia, a Territory, Commonwealth, or possession of the United States or in a Province of Canada is required. If the applicant has licenses in multiple states, no license may be restricted, revoked, or suspended or currently under such notice.
  • Medical Degree – Graduation from a medical school in the United States which at the time of the applicant’s graduation was accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, a school of osteopathic medicine approved by the American Osteopathic Association, an accredited medical school in Canada, or from a medical school located outside the United States and Canada that is deemed satisfactory to the Board is required.
  • Graduate Coursework – At least 15 total equivalent hours of graduate-level courses are required in the core areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, health services administration, and environmental health sciences. The minimum 15 credit hours of coursework should appropriately reflect the five content areas listed above to ensure applicants are well-grounded in foundational public health knowledge. Courses that include multiple content areas must meet the equivalent academic requirements and content of the traditional individual courses. Undergraduate courses and medical school coursework will not be considered to meet these requirements.

Pathway Requirements

There are multiple pathways available to achieve board certification in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine through the ABPM. Find out easily which Pathway you may be qualified to apply through using our “Am I Eligible?” quiz.

Residency Pathway

This pathway is open to all physicians who have completed an ACGME-accredited or a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) Public Health and General Preventive Medicine residency of not less than two years.

Physicians who entered a residency with advanced standing and therefore have completed only one year of the Public Health and General Preventive Medicine residency should also apply via the Residency Pathway.

Full Requirements

  • Clinical Training: A year of supervised postgraduate clinical training provided as part of a graduate medical education program accredited by the ACGME is required. Clinical training accredited by ACGME International Advanced Specialty Accreditation, American Osteopathic Association (AOA), Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC), or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) is also acceptable. The training must include at least ten months of direct patient care comprising ambulatory and inpatient experience involving diagnostic workup and treatment of individual patients.
  • Residency Training: Completion of an ACGME-accredited or an RCPSC residency training program that is accredited in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine and which shall have provided supervised experience in the practice of Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.
  • Graduate Coursework: Successful completion of a course of graduate academic study and award of a Master of Public Health or equivalent masters or doctoral post-graduate degree; the course content of which shall include epidemiology, biostatistics, health services administration, environmental health sciences, and social and behavioral sciences.
  • Current Practice: If it has been over 24 months since residency, the applicant must have been practicing, or been in training in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine for at least one of the past three years.

Documents and Verifications

  • CV/Resume, if 24 months past the residency completion date
  • Medical License Verification (ABPM will confirm after application)
  • Graduate Coursework Transcript to be requested by the applicant from their educational institution and sent directly to ABPM
  • Residency Program Verification to be completed by Program Director
  • If 24 months past residency completion date, three Letters of Reference, at least one of which must be written by a Diplomate certified by ABPM in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.

Complementary Pathway

The complementary pathway is designed to accommodate physicians who wish to make a mid-career shift into the practice of the specialty. In order to qualify through this pathway, physicians must complete two or more years of training in a clinical residency program. They must also complete one year with an ACGME-accredited Public Health and General Preventive Medicine residency program.

Full Requirements

  • Clinical Training: Two years of supervised postgraduate clinical training provided as part of a graduate medical education program accredited by the ACGME is required. Clinical training accredited by ACGME International Advanced Specialty Accreditation, American Osteopathic Association (AOA), RCPSC, or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) is also acceptable. The training must include at least ten months of direct patient care comprising ambulatory and inpatient experience involving diagnostic workup and treatment of individual patients.
  • Residency Training: A year of residency training which is accredited by the ACGME in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine and which shall have provided supervised experience in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.
    • The Public Health and General Preventive Medicine residency program must include a at least four months of direct patient care.
  • Graduate Coursework: Successful completion of a course of graduate academic study and award of a Master of Public Health or equivalent masters or doctoral post-graduate degree; the course content of which shall include epidemiology, biostatistics, health services administration, environmental health sciences, and social and behavioral sciences.
  • Current Practice: Applicants should include a minimum of two years of practice activity in the Specialty in which they are seeking certification. Practice activity must have taken place within the previous five years.

Documents and Verifications

  • CV/Resume
  • Medical License Verification (ABPM will confirm after application)
  • Graduate Coursework Transcript to be requested by the applicant from their educational institution and sent directly to ABPM
  • Residency Program Verification, to be completed by Program Director
  • Three Letters of Reference, at least one of which must be written by a Diplomate certified by ABPM in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.

Special Pathway

Current diplomates of the American Board of Preventive Medicine who possess certification in a primary specialty (Aerospace Medicine, Occupational & Environmental Medicine, and Public Health & General Preventive Medicine) may apply for one additional ABPM primary specialty through the Special Pathway.

The Special Pathway may only be used by a physician to qualify for one additional ABPM Specialty Certificate. Subject to all eligibility requirements, a third (or more) ABPM Certificate may be obtained by a single physician exclusively through the Residency Pathway.

Diplomates with subspecialty certification (Addiction Medicine; Clinical Informatics; Healthcare Administration, Leadership, and Management (HALM); Medical Toxicology; and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine) do not qualify for the Special Pathway.

Full Requirements

  • Board Certification: A specialty certification by the ABPM.
  • Practice Activity: The applicant must have been practicing, or been in training in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine for at least two of the past five years.

Documents and Verifications

  • CV/Resume
  • Medical License Verification (ABPM will confirm after application)
  • Board Certification Verification (ABPM will confirm after application)
  • Three Letters of Reference, at least two of which must be written by Diplomates certified by ABPM in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.

Are You Ready to Apply?

Take this guided quiz to learn about ABPM certification requirements.
Am I Eligible?
If you are not sure which pathway you fit, view our Requirements Table to compare the pathways.
Specialty Requirements Table

Examination Content Outlines

Core Content Outline
Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Content Outline

FAQs

Public Health and General Preventive Medicine FAQs
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