Interventional Cardiology Policies
- Eligibility for Certification and Board Policies
- General Requirements
- Training and Procedural Requirements
- Clinical Competence Requirements
- Candidates for Special Consideration
- Certification Using the Research Pathway
Eligibility for Certification and Board Policies
The information provided on ABIM's website and in ABIM's print publication, Policies and Procedures for Certification, October 2008 (pdf), governs the American Board of Internal Medicine's decision about eligibility for certification. The October 2008 edition supersedes all previous publications. The Board reserves the right to make changes in fees, examinations, policies and procedures at any time without advance notice. Admission to the Board's examinations will be determined by policies in force at the time of application. ABIM is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS).
General Requirements
To become certified in the subspecialty of interventional cardiology, physicians must have:
- Been previously certified in internal medicine by ABIM
- Maintained a current underlying certificate in cardiovascular disease by ABIM
- Satisfactorily completed the requisite graduate medical education fellowship training
- Demonstrated clinical competence in the care of patients
- Met the licensure and procedural requirements
- Passed the Certification Exam in Interventional Cardiology
Fellowship training taken before completing the requirements for the MD or DO degree, training as a chief medical resident, practice experience, and attendance at postgraduate courses may not be credited toward the requirements for subspecialty certification.
To be admitted to an examination, candidates must have completed the required training in the subspecialty, including vacation time, by October 31st of the year of examination.
Candidates for certification in the subspecialties must meet the Board's requirements for duration of training as well as minimum duration of full-time clinical training. Clinical training requirements may be met by aggregating full-time clinical training that occurs throughout the entire fellowship training period; clinical training need not be completed in successive months. Time spent in continuity outpatient clinic, during non-clinical training, is in addition to the requirement for full-time clinical training. Educational rotations completed during training may not be double counted to satisfy both internal medicine and subspecialty training requirements. Likewise, training which qualifies a diplomate for admission to one subspecialty exam cannot be double-counted toward certification in another subspecialty, with the exception of formally approved pathways for dual certification.
Clinical Training Pathway
The training pathway requires 12 months of satisfactory clinical fellowship training in interventional cardiology in addition to the required three years of cardiovascular disease training.
Interventional cardiology training taken July 1, 2002, and thereafter must be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Interventional cardiology training undertaken prior to July 1, 2002, must be conducted within an accredited cardiovascular disease fellowship program.
Beginning with the November 2000 examination, candidates who have been out of formal training three or more years as of June 30 of the year of examination must document post-training performance as primary operator of at least 150 therapeutic interventional cardiac procedures in the two years prior to application for examination.
During training in interventional cardiology, the fellow must have performed at least 250 therapeutic interventional cardiac procedures, documented in a case list and attested to by the training program director. In addition, the training program director must judge the clinical skill, judgment and technical expertise of the fellow as satisfactory.
To receive credit for performance of a therapeutic interventional cardiac procedure in the training pathway, a fellow must meet the following criteria:
- Participate in procedural planning, including indications for the procedure and the selection of appropriate procedures or instruments.
- Perform critical technical manipulations of the case. (Regardless of how many manipulations are performed in any one "case", each case may count as only one procedure.)
- Be substantially involved in postprocedural management of the case.
- Be supervised by the faculty member responsible for the procedure. (Only one fellow can receive credit for each case even if others were present.)
Program directors will be asked to attest to the performance of at least 250 therapeutic interventional cardiac procedures for each candidate who received training in their program.
Note: Candidates who have been admitted previously to the interventional cardiology examination through the practice pathway and have not yet achieved Certification may be admitted to future interventional cardiology examinations beyond 2003, when the practice pathway is no longer available for first-time admission. These candidates must meet the Board's requirements for licensure and professional standing and provide documentation of performance as primary operator of 150 therapeutic interventional cardiac procedures in the two years prior to application for examination.
TopTraining and Procedural Requirements
The total months of training required, including specific clinical months, and requisite procedures are outlined below.
| Minimum Months of Training |
Clinical Months Required |
Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 12 | A minimum of 250 therapeutic interventional cardiac procedures during accredited interventional cardiology fellowship training. Those out of interventional cardiology training three years or more as of June 30 of the year of exam must document post-training performance as primary operator of 150 therapeutic interventional cardiac procedures in the two years prior to application for exam. |
Clinical Competence Requirements
The Board requires documentation that candidates for certification are competent in (1) patient care (which includes medical interviewing, physical examination and procedural skills), (2) medical knowledge, (3) practice-based learning and improvement, (4) interpersonal and communication skills, (5) professionalism, and (6) systems-based practice.
Through its tracking process, the Board requires verification of fellows' clinical competence from the training program director.
As outlined in the Program Director Ratings of Clinical Competence table below, all fellows must receive satisfactory ratings of overall clinical competence and moral and ethical behavior in each of the required years of training. In addition, fellows must receive satisfactory ratings in each of the components of clinical competence and the requisite procedures during the final year of required training. It is the fellow's responsibility to arrange for any additional required training.
Program Director Ratings of Clinical Competence
| Ratings | Fellows (any year) |
|---|---|
| Satisfactory | Full credit |
| Unsatisfactory | No credit, must repeat year |
| Ratings | Fellows (any year) |
|---|---|
| Satisfactory | Full credit |
| Unsatisfactory | Repeat year or, at the Board's discretion, a period of observation will be required |
| Ratings | Fellows (any year) |
|---|---|
| * The six required competencies are: (1) patient care (which includes medical interviewing, physical examination and procedural skills), (2) medical knowledge, (3) practice-based learning and improvement, (4) interpersonal and communication skills, (5) professionalism, and (6) systems-based practice. | |
| Satisfactory | Full credit |
| Unsatisfactory | Must repeat year if during final year of required training |
Candidates for Special Consideration
ABIM diplomates in internal medicine may be proposed for special consideration for admission to a subspecialty examination by the program director of an accredited fellowship program if they:
- Have completed the full training required by ABIM in the subspecialty in another country and have met all current applicable ABIM procedural requirements.
- Are a full-time Associate Professor or higher in the specified subspecialty division of the Department of Medicine in an LCME-accredited medical school or an accredited Canadian medical school at the time of proposal.
- Have served eight years, after formal training, as a clinician-educator or clinical investigator with a full-time appointment on a medical school faculty.
- Possess a valid, unrestricted license to practice medicine in a state, territory, commonwealth, province or possession of the United States or Canada.
Guidelines for proposals are available in Proposing Candidates for Special Consideration.
TopCertification Using the Research Pathway
The ABIM Research Pathway is designed to integrate training in research and clinical internal medicine for those physicians who are seriously pursuing careers in basic science or clinical research. The value of the ABIM Research Pathway is that while it requires core clinical training, it concentrates on fostering a research experience that is comprehensive in terms of time, formal curriculum, and structured evaluation and feedback. These components are essential for professional growth and development and to promote continuous quality improvement.
Guidelines for certification using the research pathway are available in Research Pathway.
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