Certification Requirements
This is a brief summary of the requirements for primary certification by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. A complete description of the requirements is found in the Booklet of Information.
- If you meet all the requirements for the Residency Pathway, that is the application pathway you must follow.
- If you graduated from medical school prior to January 1, 1984, and do not meet the Residency Pathway requirements, you may be eligible to apply through the Alternate Pathway to Certification. Please refer to the Applicant Worksheet to see if you meet the qualifications.
- If you graduated from medical school after January 1, 1984, have already completed a Preventive Medicine residency program, hold a valid certificate from ABPM in one of the specialty areas, and wish to apply for certification in an additional specialty area you may be eligible to apply through the Special Pathway.
Requirement |
Residency Pathway |
Alternate Pathway |
Special Pathway |
Medical School: Graduation from a US or Canadian medical school, or from a medical school located outside the Us or Canada that is deemed satisfactory to the Board. |
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Current License(s): Hold a currently valid and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States or Canada. |
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Clinical Year: One year of supervised postgraduate clinical training provided as part of a graduate medical education program accredited by the ACGME, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, or the College of Family Physicians of Canada. The training must include at least six months of direct patient care comprising ambulatory and inpatient experience with hands-on patient care involving diagnostic workup and treatment of individual patients.
Beginning with the 2008 application cycle, clinical training accredited by the AOA will now be accepted by the Board if it includes at least six months of direct patient care comprising ambulatory and inpatient experience with hands-on patient care involving diagnostic workup and treatment of individual patients. |
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| Academic Year: Successful completion of an MPH or equivalent masters or doctoral postgraduate degree. |
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May be met by a combination of courses and experience |
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| Practicum Year: Successful completion of not less than one year in an ACGME-accredited residency program in the specialty area for which certification is being sought. |
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May be met by combinations of experience and other ABMS Board certification |
May be met by combinations of experience and other ABMS Board certification |
Currency: The applicant must be currently practicing in the field of Preventive Medicine |
Full time PM practice or training for 1 of the past 3 years |
Full time PM practice or training for 2 of the past 5 years |
Full time PM practice or training for 2 of the past 5 years |
RESIDENCY PATHWAY DESCRIPTION:
Applicants who graduated medical school after January 1, 1984 and (1) are not already certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) OR (2) who are certified by ABPM in one specialty area and are now completing another residency practicum in a second ABPM specialty area. Applicants must have completed the following requirements:
Clinical Year: As described in table above.
Academic Year: 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 biostatistics, epidemiology, health services management and administration, and environmental health.
Practicum Year: Residency practicum of not less than one year which is accredited by the ACGME in the specialty area for which certification is being sought and which shall have provided supervised experience in the practice of that specialty area of Preventive Medicine and planned instruction, observation, and active participation in a comprehensive organized program.
ALTERNATIVE PATHWAY TO CERTIFICATION DESCRIPTION:
Persons graduating from a school of medicine or school of osteopathic medicine prior to January 1, 1984 who have not formally completed both the Academic Year and the Practicum Year (see residency pathway description) may be considered for admission to the examination if their training and experience are judged by the Board to provide a suitable alternative to formal training.
SPECIAL PATHWAY DESCRIPTION:
Applicants must have completed an ACGME accredited residency in a specialty area of Preventive Medicine, been certified by ABPM in that specialty area, be applying for certification by ABPM in an additional Preventive Medicine specialty area, and have sufficient practice time to meet the requirements. A total of two years of essentially full time practice is required in the specialty area for which the additional certification is sought. In addition, the applicant must have been engaged in essentially full-time training for, or practice in, the specialty area for which the second certification is being sought for at least two of the last five years.
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