Newletter Masthead
January 2000· Vol. 25, No. 1, p. 20

ABPN

Selected excerpts from the 1999 Annual Report

Stephen C. Scheiber, MD

Executive Vice President , ABPN
Forensic Psychiatry

An examination was administered in 1999, and the results appear in the table below. The April 2001 examination (application deadline September 1, 2000) will be the last examination for which graduates of residency training programs in forensic psychiatry not accredited by the ACGME may qualify.

Recertification

Recertification committees are actively working in child neurology, neurology, and psychiatry and in the subspecialties of addiction psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry, clinical neurophysiology, forensic psychiatry, and geriatric psychiatry.

The ABPN's first recertification examination, in the subspecialty of geriatric psychiatry, was scheduled to be administered March-May, 2000.

The Board has agreed that the content for recertification examinations will be drawn from practice guidelines, standard textbooks published in the last five years, current articles from peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed monographs, and accredited continuing medical education programs.

Examinations

Performance on the ABPN examinations administered in 1999 is summarized in the table below. The Part II sites were San Francisco, CA, Boston, MA, and Atlanta, GA.

1999 EXAMINATION RESULTS

Examination

Number of
Candidates

Number
Passing
Percent
Passing
Part I: Psychiatry

2,192

1,227 56%
Part II: Psychiatry

1,901

1,106 58%
Subspecialties
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

309

190 61%
Clinical Neurophysiology

297

237 80%
Forensic Psychiatry

656

486 74%

Computer Testing Center

At its July 1999 meeting, the Board approved the establishment of a computer testing center at the Board offices. It is anticipated that most of the written examinations will become computer-administered in the next few years. This center will be designed to be compatible with those already in operation at the American Board of Pathology located in Tampa, FL, and the American Board of Radiology in Tucson, AZ.

American Board Of Medical Specialties

The ABPN continued its active involvement in the American Board of Medical Specialties.

In 1998 the ABMS appointed a Task Force on Competence which has identified the general competencies and major attributes of the competent physician. The Task Force in now focusing on assessment of these competencies for initial certification and for maintenance of certification. The latter represents a shift in the concept of recertification to more clearly reflect the ongoing nature of certification.

The proposal of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) for subspecialty recognition in developmental/behavioral pediatrics was revised by a task force consisting of four members from the ABPN and four from the ABP. This proposal was approved at the March 1999 ABMS meeting.

Communications

Information about the ABPN can be obtained in a number of ways:

Through the Internet: We are located at www.abpn.com.

By e-mail: Send requests to abpnapp@abpn.com.

By automated application telephone system: Call 847-374-4235.

By Mail: ABPN, 500 Lake Cook Road, Ste. 335, Deerfield, IL 60015.

By phone: Our number is 847-945-7900.