Board EligibilityExpand/Collapse Content
As of July 2012, the American Board of Internal Medicine considers all internal medicine and subspecialist physicians who have met the standards for Board Certification in general internal medicine or any of its subspecialties to be “Board Eligible” in the relevant specialty for a period of seven years. The seven-year period of Board Eligibility shall begin upon the candidate's successful completion of the initial certification requirements in their field or July 1, 2012, whichever is later. During the period of Board Eligibility, the candidate may apply for the certifying examination in the relevant specialty. If the candidate does not become Board Certified during the seven-year period of Board Eligibility, the candidate will no longer be deemed “Board Eligible” and may no longer represent himself or herself as “Board Eligible.”
A candidate who is no longer Board Eligible may nevertheless apply for a certifying examination, but only if the candidate has: (i) completed a year of retraining in the relevant specialty after the expiry of the candidate's period of Board Eligibility, but no more than seven years before the application; and (ii) met all other requirements for Board Certification in effect at that time. Retraining will require the successful completion of one year of additional residency/fellowship training in an ACGME-accredited U.S. training program or an RCPSC-accredited Canadian training program and an attestation from the program that the candidate has demonstrated the requisite competency for unsupervised practice. The Board Eligibility policy may be subject to other ABIM policies, including the Re-examination policy.
Exceptions
The Board recognizes that extraordinary circumstances — such as military deployment or illness — may prevent a trainee from completing the requirements for Board Certification in the seven-year period of Board Eligibility. In such extraordinary cases the candidate may appeal for an extension of the seven-year period. Any such appeal will be adjudicated by the Staff Credentials Committee of the Board, and the decision of the Staff Credentials Committee will be the final decision of the Board.
