Recommendations for becoming boarded in addictions just by taking the exam?

[Trismegistus4]

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I recently found out my employer pays a slightly higher base salary if one is board-certified in a subspecialty. I currently am not, not having done a fellowship, but as many of us know, it is possible to become board-certified in addiction psychiatry solely by passing the exam, without doing a fellowship. So I am thinking about doing this.

Anyone out there who has done this? What is the best way to go about it? Is there one "go-to" book for exam prep, like Spiegel for the general psychiatry exam? Is it worth it to do something prior to exam prep, like reading through an actual textbook?

 

[reticulum]

I'm not sure that grandfathering is still possible, or at least there is no mention of it in the current Information for Applicants.

Addiction Psychiatry - American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

Review deadlines, fees and content for initial certification in Addiction Psychiatry.

www.abpn.com

https://www.abpn.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018_Addiction_Psychiatry_CERT_IFA.pdf

 

[SourceOfDenial]

Addiction Medicine – American Board of Preventive Medicine

More complicated than just plunking down money for the test.

 

[TexasPhysician]

I recently found out my employer pays a slightly higher base salary if one is board-certified in a subspecialty. I currently am not, not having done a fellowship, but as many of us know, it is possible to become board-certified in addiction psychiatry solely by passing the exam, without doing a fellowship. So I am thinking about doing this.

Anyone out there who has done this? What is the best way to go about it? Is there one "go-to" book for exam prep, like Spiegel for the general psychiatry exam? Is it worth it to do something prior to exam prep, like reading through an actual textbook?

It is possible, but you must have worked close to 1500 hours in a dedicated addictions facility within the last 5 years not including residency. Have you done this?

 

[Trismegistus4]

OK, based on what others have posted, plus my own further searching, it seems this is not possible.

There are two different addiction subspecialties, addiction psychiatry and addiction medicine. I've long known this, but the former is the one I was thinking of. It seems it has not in fact been possible to become board-certified in addiction psychiatry without doing a fellowship since 2014 at the latest, maybe earlier. It's still possible to do it in addiction medicine, though the pathway is closing in 2012, and you have to have put in all that time in practice in addictions work post-residency, which I have not done.

(Why did I think people were still talking about doing this as though it were no big deal, when I graduated from residency in 2015?)

BTW, the Sheldon Cooper in me can't help pointing out that "grandfathering" does not refer to the process of becoming board-certified without a fellowship. "Being grandfathered in" is a phrase referring to being allowed to continue doing something under the old rules, because you started doing it before the rules changed. People who became board-certified without doing a fellowship, before the requirement to do a fellowship was added, are said to be "grandfathered in" because they are allowed to maintain their board certification without having to go back and do a fellowship.

 

[Jules A]

Addictions would be an unexpected specialty for you.

 

[Trismegistus4]

Addictions would be an unexpected specialty for you.

Why, because I don't like seeing people who want to take controlled substances? I did several addictions electives during 4th year of residency, and I never had a problem dealing with the patients. They were in those settings specifically to come off substances of abuse. People weren't being sent to me with the explicit purpose of continuing controlled substances.

Regardless, the point wasn't for me to actually practice addictions as a specialty. It was that I thought it was possible to merely pass an exam, and thereafter get paid an additional $5000 per year in my current job merely for having a piece of paper. Now that I know that's not possible, the point is moot.

 

[psyguru]

You could do brain injury medicine or community psychiatry without the fellowship. I am certified in BIM and Forensics.

Your job may pay for plain certifications like MRO or CCHP or psychological Autopsy.

I finished the mro course and need to take the exam. I may consider doing the addiction medicine speciality before they close out in a year or so. It maybe helpful as an expert witness. My main motivation for these certifications is for my private expert witness pratice.

They are not too strict on the practice requirement. It helps I have a variety of experiences.

 

[TexasPhysician]

Does your employer care which board is providing the certificate? Any specialty can become certified in “obesity medicine” by doing cme and taking a test. It’ll cost more than $5k initially, and the board is not by a well-regraded entity in my understanding. Still, it’ll get you your paper, and if accepted, it’ll provide a high return on investment over the years.