Brain Injury Medicine Gains Subspecialty Status

The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) has announced that the first examination to obtain subspecialty certification in brain injury medicine (BIM) will be held October 6, 2014.

The new subspecialty was approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties in September 2011, after it evaluated a joint application from the ABPN and the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

According to the ABPN, the BIM subspecialty “will focus on the prevention, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of individuals with acquired brain injury. BIM physicians provide a high level of care for patients with brain injury and their families in both the hospital and the post-acute setting, and over the continuum of care to facilitate the process of recovery and improve medical and functional outcomes.”

Candidates wanting to achieve this certification through the ABPN must have a certification in psychiatry or neurology by December 31 prior to taking the exam, complete the requisite practice experience or formal training, meet all training requirements (if applying based on training) by July 31 of the year of the examination, and meet all of the ABPN’s medical licensure requirements.

A “grandfathering” option will be available from 2014 to 2018 as an alternative to completing one year of fellowship training in brain injury medicine in a program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). To use this option, applicants can qualify to take the examination in BIM through a “temporary pathway” involving a choice of two options.

The first option is “attestation of a minimum of 25% practice time in the United States devoted to brain injury medicine beyond completion of residency training in the primary specialty for a minimum of three years (within the last five years). The practice should be adequately broad to reasonably reflect the full scope of brain injury medicine.”

The second option is “successful completion of 12 months of fellowship training in an ACGME- or non-ACGME-accredited brain injury medicine fellowship program affiliated with an ACGME-accredited psychiatry, neurology, or child neurology residency training program. Training must be completed by July 31 of the year of the examination.”