American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM)

Abem offers initial certification in Emergency Medicine. The American Board of medical specialties (abms) sets standards for the initial certification process. Abem is required to comply with these standards. Initial certification is a three-part process: 1) applying to become Board eligible from residency training in Emergency Medicine; 2) passing a qualifying written examination; and 3) passing an oral examination. The certification process begins upon graduation from an accreditation council for graduate medical education (acgme)- or royal college of physicians and surgeons of canada (rcpsc)-accredited residency program in Emergency Medicine. Abem also recognizes specific combined training programs that have been approved in advance by the respective sponsoring boards. Once abem verifies an applicant's credentials, the applicant is permitted to register for the qualifying written examination. After passing the qualifying examination, candidates then take an oral examination. Upon passing the oral examination, physicians are abem-certified and are designated as diplomates. The certificate the physician receives is a time-limited certificate that expires in 5 years. To maintain certification, diplomates must participate in the abem continuing certification process.

Abem develops and administers an in-training examination. This multiple choice question examination is offered annually for a week in february to residents in acgme-accredited, rcpsc-accredited, and abms-i- accredited Emergency Medicine residency programs. The in-training examination is a standardized test that residents and program faculty can use to predict the likelihood of an individual resident passing the written qualifying examination.

Abem offers a continuing certification process in which physicians participate to maintain their certification. Abms designed a continuing certification process that promotes continuous learning and periodic assessment. Each of the 24 abms member boards are required to adopt the abms continuing certification standards. To maintain certification beyond an abem certificate's 5-year expiration date, abem-certified physicians must participate in each component of continuing certification as follows: 1) continuously maintain medical licensure in compliance with the abem policy on medical licensure; 2) complete myemcert modules (4 every 5 years); and 3) for clinically- active diplomates, meet the requirements of the improvement in medical practice component, which requires participation in a medically relevant quality improvement activity (1 every 5 years).