Chicago, IL, February 24, 2021: The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) announced today that, at its January 2021 meeting, the Board of Directors voted to expand eligibility for subspecialty certification examinations to physicians trained in Canada and who possess primary board certification by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC). To be eligible under the expanded rules, physicians must also complete an Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited fellowship in the ABPM subspecialty for which they are applying as well as meet all other eligibility criteria. The updated eligibility requirements will go into effect beginning with the 2021 application cycle.

“We are excited to offer our Canadian colleagues the opportunity to become certified in ABPM’s subspecialties,” said Hernando “Joe” Ortega, Jr., MD, MPH, Chair of ABPM’s Board of Directors. “This update is consistent with ABPM’s long-standing policy that allows Canadian-trained physicians to apply for specialty certification exams. Additionally, the expanded eligibility requirements provide Canadian-trained physicians a way to demonstrate their expertise in subspecialty areas which they might not otherwise have through Canadian certification boards.”

For more information about the eligibility requirements for ABPM specialty and subspecialty certification examinations, please see the ABPM website at https://www.abpm-us.org/become-certified/. The 2021 ABPM application cycle will open on March 15 and close June 30. Interested physicians may apply online after creating an account on the Physician Portal at https://certification.abpm-us.org/login.

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.