REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY TO TAKE THE EXAMINATION
Each applicant
must satisfy the following requirements before he or she is eligible to take the
certifying examination of the Board.
General
Qualifications
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The candidate must have
graduated from a medical school in the United States accredited by the
Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME), an accredited medical school
in Canada, an accredited osteopathic school in the United States, or if a
graduate of a foreign medical school, must possess the standard certificate
of the
Educational Commission for Foreign
Medical Graduates (ECFMG). If, however, the foreign medical
school graduate is in training in an accredited program in Canada, the Board
will recognize the certificate of the Medical Council of Canada.
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The candidate must hold a
currently valid, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or
osteopathy in the state or province of his or her residence in either the
United States or Canada. The candidate may be denied certification if his or
her license has been revoked, suspended, restricted, or surrendered in any
jurisdiction - or if the candidate is subject to adverse licensure
proceedings.
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The candidate must not
have engaged in conduct which, in the judgment of the Board, (i) reflects
unethical activity relating to the practice of medicine, or (ii) casts
significant doubt on the ability of the candidate to practice dermatology in
the best interests of patients.
Residency
Training Requirements
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Candidates for
certification by the American Board of Dermatology are required to have a
total of four years of postgraduate training as described below.
a) The first year (PGY1) must consist of 12 months of clinical training in one
of the following types of broad-based programs in the United States accredited
by the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or a
similar program in Canada accredited by the
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada: a transitional
year (formerly called flexible first postgraduate year), or a first year
residency in emergency medicine, family medicine, general
surgery, internal
medicine, obstetrics & gynecology, or
pediatrics.
b) Three years of full-time training as a resident in a dermatology residency
training program in the United States accredited by the
Accreditation Council for Graduate
Medical Education (ACGME) or three years of full-time training as a
resident in a dermatology residency training program in Canada accredited by the
Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada. Accreditation of dermatology training programs in
the United States is the responsibility of the
Residency Review Committee for
Dermatology acting with authority delegated to it by the ACGME
(accredited dermatology residency training programs and clinical programs for
first postgraduate year credit are listed in the AMA sponsored Fellowship and
Residency Electronic Interactive Database (FRIEDA) Online
www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/2997.html and also at
www.acgme.org).
c) The resident's time throughout each year (PGY2 - PGY4) must be related to the
direct care of outpatients and inpatients (to include clinical conferences and
didactic lectures related to patient care, consultations, inpatient rounds, and
other subspecialty rotations concerning dermatology. Dermatopathology,
microbiology, and other basic science lectures, seminars, and conferences are
essential components of the resident's training (see the
Program Requirements for Residency
Training in Dermatology).
The Board also
emphasizes the importance of basic science and clinical investigation in the
educational experience of trainees. Accordingly, all residents should
participate in basic science and/or clinical research during their training.
Individual programs may permit elective time, not to exceed 3 months per
three-year period. Residency training requirements for individuals enrolled in
an Investigative/Academic Training Track, are discussed under d) below.
d) For those candidates whose career plans involve a primary commitment to
investigative or academic dermatology, an Investigative/Academic Training Track,
which must assure adequate clinical education and experience in accordance with
the general requirements described above, may also be acceptable. The essential
elements of such training tracks are as follows:
1) Training experiences for individuals in the Investigative/Academic Training
Track must be candidate-specific (i.e., not a program-specific pathway).
2) The first year (PGY2) of this track must be 100% clinical in character.
3) Investigative or academic experience can be integrated with the required
additional clinical training during the second (PGY3), third (PGY4), and/or
fourth (PGY5) year/s. In this Investigative/Academic Training Track, residents
must satisfy a requirement for 225% direct patient care time (as defined by 100%
clinical training in the first [PGY2] year and the balance of 125% clinical
training apportioned over the second [PGY3], third [PGY4], and/or fourth [PGY5]
years of this track). In addition, the Investigative/Academic Track must include
the equivalent to a one-half day clinic per week each year until the 225%
requirements is met. Continuity of patient care should be stressed as much as
possible in this clinic experience. Rotations on the consultation service, for a
period comparable to the time similarly scheduled for general dermatology
residents, may be substituted for the clinic time during the special training
track years of the residency.
4) Requests for approval of this Investigative/Academic Training Track must be
submitted to the Executive Director of the Board prospectively, at least
four (4) months prior to the beginning of such training. This will be on or
before March 1 of the year preceding the onset of the special track. Requests
earlier than January 1 of the PGY2 year will not be considered because the
program director must have had an opportunity to judge the clinical potential of
the trainee.
The request for
consideration of this investigative/academic track must include information
about the intended research, a letter of support from the faculty member the
resident will be working with, and a detailed schedule of the resident’s time
commitments during the entire training period. It is incumbent upon program
directors to select candidates for this special training track whose skills and
learning capabilities permit the acquisition of clinical competence as well as
the execution of their investigative or academic responsibilities. Moreover, the
program director must monitor the training of these residents throughout their
residency and must validate their clinical and research experiences at the
completion of their residencies.
Program
directors should contact the Executive Director of the ABD if there are
questions or if additional information is needed concerning this special track.
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A Preliminary Registration
Form must be filed electronically by the candidate within 30 days of the
start of training.
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A Yearly Report Form for
each resident must be submitted by the training director to the Board office
by August 1 after completion of the
first and
second year of training
and by May 15 for residents who will complete their
third year of training
on June 30. In order for a candidate to take the certifying examination, the
training director must certify that each year of training was completed in a
satisfactory manner.
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Training must be completed
within five years after the beginning of dermatology residency, except when
military service or other compelling circumstances intervene.
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It is the responsibility
of the training director to determine if a resident has satisfactorily
completed the required 3 years of dermatology training and is therefore
eligible to sit for the certifying examination of the American Board of
Dermatology (see
the Guidelines for Determining Adequacy of Clinical Training).
The Final Evaluation must verify that the resident has demonstrated
sufficient professional ability to practice competently and independently.
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