Chicago, IL – March 19, 2019 – The ABMS Committee on Certification (COCERT) has approved the ABPM’s proposal to allow surgical residents who have completed training in an ACGME-accredited fellowship in Clinical Informatics to sit for the ABPM’s Initial Certification Examination in CI (the “Exam”) prior to obtaining primary certification in surgery from the American Board of Surgery (ABS). In order to be eligible to participate in the MRTP a surgical resident must: (i) have a guaranteed training slot to complete the requirements for primary certification in surgery and; (ii) meet all other then-current ABPM eligibility requirements for certification in CI. The MRTP will allow surgical residents to pursue both a surgical residency and a fellowship in Clinical Informatics concurrently.

“The American College of Surgeons has published studies that demonstrate the longer a delay between completion of training and taking an examination, the higher the failure rate. With this in mind, the ABPM was pleased to collaborate with the ABS in responding to numerous requests from surgical residents who are seeking to pursue their interest in Clinical Informatics while concurrently working toward their certification in surgery,” said ABPM Board Chair, Marie “Tonette” Krousel-Wood, MD, MSPH. Dr. Krousel-Wood went on to say that, “The MRTP represents a measured approach in addressing the increasing demand for qualified clinical informaticians while maintaining the integrity and rigor of the training required to become certified by the ABPM in CI.”

Since primary certification by an ABMS Member Board is a prerequisite for certification in CI, the ABPM will not issue a physician certification in CI under the MRTP until such time as the physician: (i) takes and passes the Exam and (ii) takes and passes the ABS Qualifying and Certifying Examinations in Surgery. Upon taking and passing both the Exam and the ABS Qualifying and Certifying Examinations in Surgery, the physician would then be awarded certificates in both surgery and CI. Physicians who complete the CI fellowship prior to the end of their surgical residency will be eligible for ABPM certification in CI for a period of seven years beginning at the completion of surgical training.

The ABPM is a Member Board of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). 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.