Public Health and General Preventive Medicine
Public Health and General Preventive Medicine practitioners work in a variety of settings to enhance the health and improve the quality of life of communities and populations. Learn how to achieve board certification in this vital specialty.
Specialty 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 coursework 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 5 content areas listed above to ensure applicants are well grounded in foundational public health knowledge and should be graduate level courses. Courses that may include multiple content areas must meet the equivalent academic requirements and content of the traditional individual courses. Undergraduate courses and course work in medical school will not be considered to meet these requirements.
Pathway Requirements Overview
There are multiple pathways available to achieve board certification in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.
Find out easily for which pathway you may be qualified by reviewing the Public Health and General Preventive Medicine Requirements Table.
Pathway Requirements
If you are not sure which pathway is best for you, view our Requirements Table to compare the pathways.
Residency Pathway
This pathway is open to all applicants who have completed an ACGME-accredited or 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 an Public Health and General Preventive Medicine should also apply via the residency pathway.
Full Requirements
Clinical Training
- A year of postgraduate clinical training provided as part of a graduate medical education program accredited by one of the organizations listed below:
- ACGME
- ACGME International
- American Osteopathic Association
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
- College of Family Physicians of Canada
Clinical 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 Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) residency training program that is accredited in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine and which provides supervised experience in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine practice.
Graduate Coursework
Successful completion of a course of graduate academic study and award of a Master of Public Health or equivalent masters or doctoral postgraduate degree; the course content must include epidemiology, biostatistics, health services administration, environmental health sciences, and social and behavioral sciences.
Documents and Verifications
- Graduate coursework transcript: must be requested by the applicant from their educational institution and sent directly to the ABPM.
- Residency program verification, completed by the Program Director.
- If 24 months or more past the residency completion date:
- CV/Resume
- 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 Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.
Full Requirements
Clinical Training
- Two years of supervised postgraduate clinical training provided as part of a graduate medical education program accredited by one of the organizations listed below:
- ACGME
- ACGME International
- American Osteopathic Association
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
- College of Family Physicians of Canada
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 Public Health and General Preventive Medicine residency training which is accredited by the ACGME and which provides supervised experience in the practice of Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.
The Public Health and General Preventive Medicine residency program must include 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 postgraduate degree; the course content must include epidemiology, biostatistics, health services administration, environmental health sciences, and social and behavioral sciences.
Current Practice
A minimum of two years of full-time Public Health and General Preventive Medicine practice within the previous five years. Practice time is counted through June 30th of the application year. Practice cannot be during or concurrent with ACGME-accredited training.
Documents and Verifications
- 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.
- CV/Resume
- Graduate coursework transcript: must be requested by the applicant from their educational institution and sent directly to the ABPM.
- Residency program verification, completed by the Program Director.
Special Pathway
Current diplomates of the American Board of Preventive Medicine who possess certification in a primary specialty (Aerospace Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine, and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine) may apply for one additional ABPM primary specialty certification through the special pathway.
The special pathway may be used by a physician to qualify for only 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; Health Care Administration, Leadership, and Management (HALM); Medical Toxicology; and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine) do not qualify for the special pathway.
Full Requirements
Board Certification
An ABPM specialty certification.
Practice Activity
A minimum of two years of full-time Public Health and General Preventive Medicine practice within the previous five years. Practice time is counted through June 30th of the application year. Practice cannot be during or concurrent with ACGME-accredited training.
Documents and Verifications
- CV/Resume
- Three letters of reference; at least two of which must be written by diplomates certified by ABPM in Public Health and General Preventive Medicine.
Specialty FAQS
Exam Information
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