Certification Process Overview

• Points Offered to Help Applicants Understand the Process of ABMG Certification

   

• Results of Application Review

   

• ABMG Certifying Examination

   

• Special Accommodations for Applicants with a Disability
   

• Failure to Achieve ABMG Certification

Points Offered to Help Applicants Understand the Process of ABMG Certification

• Requirements for ABMG certification, including doctoral degree requirements, medical training requirements, medical genetics training requirements, credentialing process and certifying examinations reside exclusively with the Board of Directors of the ABMG. Any questions that trainees or program directors have about the ABMG certification process must be directed in writing to the ABMG Administrative Office.
   

• Individuals interested in pursuing ABMG certification must be enrolled in an ABMG-accredited fellowship or an ACGME-accredited clinical genetics residency. The program must be accredited in the specialty(ies) in which the trainee plans to seek certification. The list of ABMG-accredited fellowships and ACGME-accredited clinical genetics residencies is available in the Training Guide to North American Graduate and Post-Graduate Training Programs in Human Genetics prepared by the American Society of Human Genetics (www.ashg.org and click on Educational Resources)
   

• The program director must submit to the ABMG Administrative Office documents verifying the training of each medical genetics trainee planning to seek ABMG certification. Trainees are advised to check with their program director to assure that these forms contain correct information and have been properly filed. The required documents are:

   

  1. The Trainee Information form, which is submitted to the ABMG Administrative Office by the program director at the onset of the applicant’s training. Note that the specific date, month and year of the start and conclusion of the trainee’s medical genetics training, and the ABMG specialty(ies) for which the trainee is receiving training must be reported on this form. Receipt of this form by the Administrative Office also starts the process for obtaining access to the online logbook.
      

  2. The annual report of the training program which is filed each year with the ABMG Administrative Office. The annual report includes for each trainee the inclusive dates of training and the ABMG specialty(ies) for which the trainee is receiving training.
      

• A trainee is only eligible to apply for ABMG certification in 2009 in specialties for which the necessary training will have been completed by July 31, 2009. All program requirements must be completed and verified by the program director prior to receiving “active candidate status.
   

• An individual who is interested in pursuing medical genetics training and ABMG-certification, and who has received a doctoral degree and/or some or all graduate medical training outside of the US, Canada or Puerto Rico may need to fulfill additional requirements for certification (see Section XII). The interested person and the director of the medical genetics training program should petition the ABMG Credentials Committee in writing to the ABMG Administrative Office to clarify any additional requirements for ABMG certification before that individual commences medical genetics training.
   

• The ABMG limits active candidate status to individuals who fulfill the criteria for certification. Those practitioners working in the field of medical genetics who do not meet the specific criteria, despite academic or clinical backgrounds, are not eligible to sit for the ABMG certification examination.
   

• It is strongly recommended that an interested person or trainee whose training does not conform to the training requirements outlined in this document petition the ABMG in writing to the ABMG Administrative Office prior to the onset of medical genetics training to clarify the requirements for certification by the ABMG.

Results of Application Review

The ABMG Credentials Committee will notify each applicant in writing with his/her candidate status. If further documentation is required and/or the application is in some manner incomplete, the applicant will be notified.
 

Active candidate status granted: All credentialing requirements have been satisfied in one or more specialty areas and all application review fees have been paid. The active candidate is eligible to sit the certifying examination(s). The active candidate will be asked to submit the examination fees at this time (View Fees).
 

Active candidate status denied: The applicant has failed to satisfy one or more credentialing requirements. Applicants who are denied active candidate status and who are considering an appeal may write to the ABMG Administrative Office to obtain a copy of the Appeal Process for Adverse Decisions Affecting Certification. Appeals of candidate status must be made in writing to the ABMG Administrative Office within thirty (30) days after receipt by the applicant of notice of the adverse decision.
 

Note: ABMG does not use or recognize the term “board eligible.” Active candidate status expires at the time that the results of the ABMG certifying examination are released. If a candidate fails to achieve certification for any reason (including withdrawal from the examination process), the individual loses his or her active candidate status.
 

ABMG Certifying Examination

Approved applicants will be sent written notification of active candidate status. This letter will also include information on examination fees and deadlines and scheduling procedures. The 2009 examination will be computer-based. Thomson Prometric, a division of Thomson Learning, Inc., provides scheduling and test centers for the ABMG examination. The examination will be administered at Thomson Prometric test centers located in the United Sates and its territories.

1. Admission to the Thomson Prometric Test Center: A scheduling permit will be provided to you by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). You will need to present this permit, as well as an unexpired, government-issued form of identification cared (such as a current driver’s license, federal or state identification card, or passport) that includes your photograph and signature in order to be admitted to the examination site. The first, middle, and last name on your identification must exactly match the name on your permit. All of your personal belongings must be placed in a small locker before you are escorted to the testing room.
    

2. The ABMG Certifying Examination Is Comprised of Two Parts: The examination includes a general examination and a specialty examination in one of four specialty areas. An active candidate for ABMG certification must take the general examination and at least one specialty examination. A candidate may only take the specialty examination(s) for which s/he has been credentialed. Each examination is administered on a separate day.
    

3. Seeking Certification in an Additional Specialty: An active candidate who is an ABMG diplomate and who is applying for certification in an additional specialty or specialties must take both the general examination and the specialty examination(s) for which s/he has been credentialed unless certification was granted in the previous cycle. Diplomates sitting for an additional specialty in the next consecutive cycle do not have to repeat the general examination. However, if certification is not granted in that cycle, the next cycle must include both the specialty and general examinations. (This does not apply to subspecialty certification.)
    

4. Gaining Certification: To be certified by the ABMG, active candidates must pass both the general examination and at least one specialty examination. Failure to pass the certifying examination is not grounds for appeal.
    

5. Test Center Issues: If problems arise while at the test center, it is the candidate’s responsibility to inform the test administrator of any difficulties encountered at the examination site. In addition, candidates must inform the ABMG Administrative Office in writing within one week of the examination of any such difficulties encountered at the examination site. If a problem arises, do NOT leave the testing site. Contact the ABMG Administrative Office at (301) 634-7315. The ABMG will do its best to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
    

6. Certification Examination Content: The content of the certification examinations is proprietary and strictly confidential information. Applicants must sign a notarized statement agreeing that he/she will not disclose, either directly or indirectly, any question or any part of any question from the examination to any person or entity. The unauthorized receipt, retention, possession, copying or disclosure of any certification examination materials, including but not limited to the content of any examination question, before, during, or after the examination may subject the applicant to legal action. Such legal action may result in monetary damages and/or disciplinary action including denial or revocation of certification.
    

7. Disclaimer: The ABMG reserves the rights to make changes to its fees, policies and procedures at any time and will make every effort to give advance notice when such changes are made.

Special Accommodations for Applicants with a Disability

ABMG provides reasonable and appropriate accommodations for examinees with documented disabilities that affect one or more major life activities such as walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, learning and working.
 

Test accommodations are adjustments to the testing activity for an individual with a disability in order to ease the effect of the disability on the testing process. Reasonable accommodations vary according to the type and degree of disability. Accommodations will be made on an individual basis and depend on the nature and extent of the disability, documentation provided, and the requirements of the examination. The ABMG will provide qualified examinees who have documented disabilities with appropriate auxiliary aids and services that do not fundamentally alter the measurement of the skills or knowledge the examination is intended to test and that would not result in an undue burden to the ABMG.
 

Applicants with a physical or mental disability who need special accommodations during the certifying examinations must check the Application for Special Accommodations box on the application form and must complete and submit the Application for Special Accommodations to the Administrative Office. Applicants requesting reasonable accommodations because of disabilities must provide appropriate documentation of the disability and specify the extent to which the standard testing procedures need to be modified.
 

The ABMG supports the intent of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and attempts to make reasonable accommodations for applicants with disabilities. Thomson Prometric offers examinations in a place and manner accessible to individuals with disabilities or offers alternative accessible arrangements for such individuals. Auxiliary aids and services are offered only if they do not fundamentally alter the measurement of the skills and knowledge the examination is intended to test. Contact the ABMG Administrative Office to request an application.
 

The applicant must notify the ABMG Administrative Office immediately if new circumstances arise after submission of the application that causes the applicant to request special accommodations during the certifying examination.

Failure to Achieve ABMG Certification

Individuals who do not pass the ABMG certifying examination, who withdraw from the certifying examination, or who do not appear at the certifying examination site, will not achieve ABMG certification.
 

No portion of the ABMG certifying examination score will be carried forward to any future certifying examination cycle. Thus, if an applicant has passed either the general examination or a specialty examination, but not both, neither score will be carried forward.