ABIM offers four special consideration pathways to enable physicians trained in osteopathic medicine or international medical graduates to obtain ABIM Board Certification.
Learn more about the specific eligibility requirements below or check out the pathway requirements at a glance.
Pathway A: International Medical Graduates Who Are Full-Time U.S. or Canadian Faculty
A full-time faculty member at a Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)- or Canadian-accredited medical school, or at a residency or fellowship program accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or the Collège des médecins du Québec, who has successfully completed training in internal medicine and/or a subspecialty abroad may become eligible to achieve ABIM Board Certification in Internal Medicine and/or a subspecialty as a candidate for special consideration.
Depending on the exam for which the candidate is applying, they must be proposed by the chair of the Department of Medicine or the internal medicine and/or subspecialty program director at the institution where they hold a current full-time faculty appointment. Candidates may not propose themselves for consideration in this pathway.
Who is eligible?
Eligible candidates will have:
- Successfully completed three or more years of verified graduate medical education training in internal medicine and/or a subspecialty abroad;
- An academic rank of assistant professor or higher at the time of application.
- A full-time faculty appointment for a minimum of three (3) immediately prior and consecutive years at the same institution:
- Full-time faculty members are those who supervise and teach trainees (students, residents, or fellows) in clinical settings that include direct patient care.
- The appointment must be at an LCME- or Canadian-accredited medical school or at an ACGME- or Canadian-accredited internal medicine residency or subspecialty fellowship training program.
- Candidates applying for Internal Medicine Board Eligibility may hold an appointment in any department under the umbrella of the Department of Medicine; however, they must be proposed by the chair of the Department of Medicine or internal medicine program director.
- Certification in Internal Medicine from ABIM for eligibility in a subspecialty;
- A valid, unrestricted and unchallenged medical license to practice medicine in the U.S., its territories or Canada.
Download Pathway A Application (.pdf)
Pathway B: Program Directors of ACGME-Accredited Training Programs Under the Single GME Accreditation System
A program director of an ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship training program under the Single GME Accreditation System who has successfully completed training in internal medicine and/or a subspecialty in an American Osteopathic Association (AOA)-accredited residency and/or fellowship training program may become eligible to achieve ABIM Board Certification in Internal Medicine and/or a subspecialty as a candidate for special consideration.
Through its tracking process, FasTrack®, ABIM requires verification of trainees' initial certification eligibility criteria to come from a program director who is certified by ABIM in the discipline for which they are program director (other ABMS Member Board or Canadian certification is acceptable, if applicable).
In support of the Single GME Accreditation System, ABIM recognized the need for a change in eligibility policies to allow program directors of newly accredited programs to become certified by ABIM and for a transition period, to allow them to do so. That period was extended through 2023. During this transition period, ABIM accepted attestations for ABIM initial certification eligibility criteria from those who are program directors through the Single GME Accreditation System, but who have not yet become certified by ABIM. Beginning in 2024, all attestations to ABIM initial certification eligibility criteria must come from program directors who are certified by ABIM in the discipline of their program, consistent with ABIM policy.
Who is eligible?
Eligible program directors will have:
- Designation as the program director of an ACGME-accredited internal medicine and/or subspecialty training program;
- American Osteopathic Board of Internal Medicine (AOBIM) Certification in Internal Medicine and/or a subspecialty, depending on the discipline for which they are program director.
Download Pathway B Application (.pdf)
Pathway C: Faculty Members of ACGME-Accredited Training Programs Under the Single GME Accreditation System
A faculty member of an ACGME-accredited residency or fellowship training program under the Single GME Accreditation System who has successfully completed training in internal medicine and/or a subspecialty in an American Osteopathic Association (AOA)-accredited residency and/or fellowship training program may become eligible to achieve ABIM Board Certification in Internal Medicine and/or a subspecialty as a candidate for special consideration.
Candidates must be proposed by the internal medicine and/or subspecialty program director at the institution where they hold the full-time faculty appointment. Candidates may not propose themselves for consideration in this pathway.
Who is eligible?
Eligible faculty will have:
- American Board of Osteopathic Internal Medicine (AOBIM) Certification in Internal Medicine and/or a subspecialty;
- A full-time faculty appointment for a minimum of three (3) immediately prior and consecutive years at the same institution.
- Full-time faculty members are those who supervise and teach trainees (students, residents or fellows) in clinical settings that include direct patient care.
- The appointment must be at an ACGME- or Canadian-accredited internal medicine residency or subspecialty fellowship training program.
- Faculty at ACGME-accredited residency and/or fellowship programs may still qualify if the program became ACGME-accredited less than three years ago.
Download Pathway C Application (.pdf)
Pathway D: Graduates of AOA-Accredited Training Programs Who Have Completed ACGME-Accredited Fellowship Training
A graduate of an ACGME-accredited fellowship program who has successfully completed training in internal medicine in an American Osteopathic Association (AOA)-accredited residency program may become eligible to achieve ABIM Board Certification in Internal Medicine as a candidate for special consideration.
American Board of Osteopathic Internal Medicine (AOBIM) Certification in Internal Medicine does not meet the underlying certification requirement for ABIM Board Certification in a subspecialty.
Who is eligible?
Eligible fellows will have:
- Completed three or more years of verified graduate medical education training in internal medicine in an AOA-accredited residency program and have obtained certification by AOBIM;
- Completed all required subspecialty training in an ACGME-accredited fellowship program.
- Satisfactory subspecialty training must be attested to for each year of subspecialty fellowship training via ABIM's FasTrack Clinical Competence Evaluation System. Those who pass ABIM's Internal Medicine Certification Examination would then become eligible for subspecialty certification the following year after becoming certified in Internal Medicine.
Download Pathway D Application (.pdf)