AMERICAN BOARD OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine Practice Pathway Extension 

The training plus practice pathway for Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine has been extended through the 2010 application cycle. Two years of practice (at least 25% time) in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. Practice time must have been completed within the past five years preceding application to be considered. Deadline for applications is July 1, 2010. After that date, only physicians who have complete an approved one year fellowship will be eligible. Applications can be obtained through www.uhms.org or:American Board of Preventive Medicine 330 South Wells St., Suite 1018 Chicago, IL 60606-7106  Phone: 312.939.2276 Fax: 312.939.2218

AMERICAN OSTEOPATHIC BOARD OF PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

Documentation of a two-year period of time in which a minimum of 25% of practice time was in the practice of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. Documentation of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine research and teaching activities may also be submitted for review. Documentation of supervision of at least 500 treatments.

The Conjoint Committee of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine’s (AOCUHM) spring examinations will be given at the American Osteopathic College of Occupational and Preventive Medicine’s Mid– Year Educational Conference. The conference will be held March 4-8, 2009 in Saint Louis, Missouri. The committee will administer a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. The examination will be given on Saturday, March 7, 2009. In order to be eligible to take the examination a candidate will have to meet the following criteria:

• Have graduated from an AOA accredited college of osteopathic medicine.
• Have satisfactorily completed a one-year AOA approved internship.
• Have satisfactorily completed a one-year AOA-approved hyperbaric medicine residency/ fellowship, or completed a clinical pathway consisting of completion of a 40 hour basic course in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine and a two-year period of time in which he or she spent a minimum of 25% of his or her time in the practice of Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine. (The clinical pathway option for certification will expire on December 31, 2013, after which only the residency/fellowship option will be allowed. For complete details please visit www.aocuhm.org)

For more information contact the AOCUHM Staff at: 800-621-1773 x 8229 or visit their new website: www.aocuhm.org  

American College of Hyperbaric Medicine

To qualify for examination, the physician candidate must have supervised a minimum of 300 hyperbaric treatments for approved indications as noted by either the Undersea & Hyperbaric Medical Society (UHMS) or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid. The application is not subject to the expiration of a “practice pathway” and will remain open indefinitely. Applications can be obtained through the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine www.ACHM.org.

A common question regards the differences between the Board Examination given by the American Boards of Preventative Medicine / Emergency Medicine and the ACHM Certification Examination.  We are also often asked which examination an applicant should consider. Our advice would be to take the ABPM or ABEM Hyperbaric Board Exam if you qualify, as after 2010 it will be only available to applicants who have completed a one year approved clinical fellowship in hyperbaric medicine.

The ACHM does not administer a “board exam”, as relevant legal opinion and case law indicates that the terms “Board Examination” and “Board Certified” can be used ethically only by one of the 28 boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. For physicians who do not qualify for the ABPM or ABEM Hyperbaric Board Exam, the ACHM examination process is an excellent and recommended pathway for certification. The ACHM Certification Examination will confer on the successful applicant a Certificate of Special Qualification and Certification in the specialty of Clinical Hyperbaric and Diving Medicine. The prerequisites for sitting for the ACHM exam are nearly identical to the prerequisites now demanded by the ABPM and the ABEM during the “grandfathered” practice track period. He or she must be an ethical hyperbaric practitioner and a member of the ACHM, have taken a 40-hour course in Clinical Hyperbaric Medicine approved as a core curriculum by the American College of Hyperbaric Medicine, the US Department of Defense, or the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, or have completed a one year approved fellowship in Clinical Hyperbaric Medicine. He or she must also submit documentation of supervision of at least 300 hyperbaric treatments. The ACHM certification will require and attest to the same basic skills and knowledge now required by the ABPM and the ABEM.  It will recognize and certify hyperbaric competence in those mid-career physicians who cannot divorce themselves of their practices for a full year’s hyperbaric fellowship or for those physicians who do not meet the criteria to sit for the ABPM/ABEM. It will continue to provide a pathway for certification once the ABPM/ABEM closes the practice track. It will provide nationally recognized credible evidence of competence to credentials committees, UHMS Hyperbaric Accreditation Survey Teams and the Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation.  

Click here for more information about ACHM certification, or to register for the next exam.