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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
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Aerospace medicine
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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:
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Medical toxicology (MT)
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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 or email Sara
Spinnato at
sb@acpm.org.
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