The Specialty of Preventive Medicine
Frequently Asked Questions
Q:
What is Preventive Medicine?
A:
In the United States, preventive
medicine is a medical specialty, one of
the 24 recognized by the American Board
of Medical Specialties (ABMS). It
encompasses three main areas of
specialization:
-
General preventive medicine and public
health
-
Aerospace medicine
-
Occupational medicine
Q:
How Does one become Boarded in
Preventive Medicine?
A:
In order to become board-certified in
one of the preventive medicine areas of
specialization, a licensed U.S.
physician (M.D. or D.O.) must
successfully complete a preventive
medicine medical residency program
following a one year internship.
Following that, the physician must
complete a year of practice in that
special area and pass the preventive
medicine board examination. The
residency program is at least two years
in length, and includes completion of a
post-graduate masters degree in public
health (MPH). The board exam takes an
entire day: The morning session
concentrates on general preventive
medicine questions while the afternoon
session concentrates on the one of the
three areas of specialization that the
applicant has studied.
In addition, there are two subspecialty
areas of certification:
-
Medical toxicology (MT)
-
Undersea and hyperbaric medicine (UHB),
formerly "undersea medicine"
These certifications require sitting for
an examination following successful
completion of an MT or UHB fellowship
and prior board certification in one of
the 24 ABMS-recognized specialties.
Q:
How may I obtain more information about
the Preventive Medicine Board
examination?
A:
For information on taking the preventive
medicine board examination, please visit
the American Board of Preventive
Medicine (ABPM) at
www.abprevmed.org.
If you have a question you would like
answered, post it to the
APMR message board!
