Fast Fact and Concept #9: Hospice and Palliative Medicine Certification Exam

Title: Fast Fact and Concept #9: Hospice and Palliative Medicine Certification Exam

Author(s): Weissman, D.

This Fast Fact and Concept gives the requirements for taking the physician certification examination in Hospice and Palliative Care, along with testing dates for 2001. Appropriate for distribution to physicians interested in becoming certified.

Educational Objective(s):
Learn the eligibility criteria for certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Board Certification has been available in Hospice and Palliative Medicine since 1996, administered by the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (ABHPM) and its 9 member Board of Trustees. ABHPM seeks to increase competencies in skilled end-of-life medical care by promoting certification in hospice and palliative medicine. Board certification reinforces good care and strengthens hospice and palliative medicine as a highly valued specialty. Over 600 physicians have been certified.

Applicant Criteria:
1. a current license in the U.S. (or equivalent in other countries);
2. certification in a specialty recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties or Osteopathic Medicine (or equivalent in other countries);
3. at least 2 years in practice following residency;
4. at least 2 years work with an interdisciplinary team;
5. participation in the active care of at least 50 terminally ill patients in the preceding 3 years;
6. 3 years of experience in hospice and palliative medicine beyond residency is recommended;

A handbook for candidates and exam application may be requested directly from www.abhpm.org

Fast Facts and Concepts are developed and distributed as part of the National Internal Medicine Residency End-of-Life Education project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Copyright Notice: Users are free to download and distribute Fast Facts for educational purposes only. Citation for referencing: Weissman, D. Fast Fact and Concepts #09: Hospice and Palliative Medicine Certification Exam. June, 2000. End-of-Life Physician Education Resource Center www.eperc.mcw.edu.

Disclaimer: Fast Facts provide educational information, this information is not medical advice. Health care providers should exercise their own independent clinical judgment. Some Fast Fact information cites the use of a product in dosage, for an indication, or in a manner other than that recommended in the product labeling. Accordingly, the official prescribing information should be consulted before any such product is used.

Creation Date: 3/2000

Format: Handouts

Purpose: Instructional Aid, Teaching

Audience(s)

Training: PGY2-6, Physicians in Practice

Specialty: Anesthesiology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, General Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Hematology/Oncology, Neurology, OB/GYN, Ophthalmology, Pulmonary/Critical Care, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Surgery

Non-Physician: Nurses

ACGME Competencies: System-based Practice

Keyword(s): Addiction, Adult, Advance directives, Antibiotics, Assisted suicide/euthanasia, Autopsy/organ donation, Blood products, Cancer, Cardio-pulminary, Cardio-pulmonary diseases, Care for children of dying adults, Care for dying children, Caring for families, Chronic non-malignant pain, Clinical interventions, Communications skills, Constitutional, Controlled substance regulations, Cross-cultural care, Death pronouncement, Decision making capacity/surrogates, Discussing hospice care, Disease categories, Do not rescucitate orders, Endocrine diseases, Ethics, Family conference, Gastrointestinal, Giving bad news, Grief/bereavement, Hemic and lymphatic diseases, Hepato-renal diseases, Home care benefit, Hope, Hydration, Immunologic diseases, Infectious diseases, Informed consent, Injuries, poisonings, and occupational diseases, Interventional procedures, Medicare hospice benefit, Metabolic, Musculoskeletal, Negotiating treatment goals, Neurologic, Neurologic diseases, Non-oral feeding, Non-pain symptoms/disorders/syndromes, Oral/communication, Other disease category, Pain, Pain assessment, Pain treatment, Personal reflection, Post-death family care, Professional burnout, Prognosis, Psychiatric, Quality of life, Radiation or chemotherapy, Rehabilitation, Sexuality and reproduction, Skin/lymphatic, Spirituality, Surgery, Terminal care, Treatment withdrawal, Treatment withholding

The Fast Facts series is distributed for educational use only and does not constitute medical advice. For the most current version of Fast Facts visit the EPERC web site at www.eperc.mcw.edu. This mirror version is provided subject to copyright restrictions for educational use within the Inter-Instutional Collaborating Network on End-of-Life Care (IICN).