REQUIREMENTS FOR ELIGIBILITY TO TAKE THE EXAMINATION

Each applicant must satisfy the following requirements before he or she is eligible to take the certifying examination of the Board.

General Qualifications

  • The candidate must have graduated from a medical school in the United States accredited by the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME), an accredited medical school in Canada, an accredited osteopathic school in the United States, or if a graduate of a foreign medical school, must possess the standard certificate of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG). If, however, the foreign medical school graduate is in training in an accredited program in Canada, the Board will recognize the certificate of the Medical Council of Canada.
  • The candidate must hold a currently valid, full and unrestricted license to practice medicine or osteopathy in either the United States or Canada but may be denied certification if the candidate's license has been revoked, suspended, restricted, or surrendered in any jurisdiction - or if the candidate is subject to adverse licensure proceedings.
  • The candidate must not have engaged in conduct which, in the judgment of the Board, reflects unethical activity relating to the practice of medicine, or casts signficiant doubt on the ability of the candidate to practice dermatology in the best interests of patients.
Residency Training Requirements
  • Candidates for certification by the American Board of Dermatology are required to have a total of four years of postgraduate training as described below.

    a) The first year must consist of clinical training in one of the following types of broad-based programs in the United States accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or a similar program in Canada accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada: a transitional year (formerly called flexible first postgraduate year), or a first year residency in internal medicine, general surgery, family practice, obstetrics & gynecology, pediatrics, or emergency medicine.

    b) Three years of full-time training as a resident in a dermatology residency training program in the United States accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or three years of fulltime training as a resident in a dermatology residency training program in Canada accredited by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Accreditation of dermatology training programs in the United States is the responsibility of the Residency Review Committee for Dermatology acting with authority delegated to it by the ACGME (accredited dermatology residency training programs and clinical programs for first postgraduate year credit are listed in the AMA Graduate Medical Education Directory which is published annually).

    • c) At least 75% of the resident's time throughout each year (PGY-2, PGY-3, PGY-4) of dermatology residency training must be related to the direct care of outpatients and inpatients; this includes clinical conferences and didactic lectures related to patient care, consultations, and inpatient rounds. During the 3 years of dermatology residency, therefore, 225% of the 300% (100% per year) of training must involve these direct patient care activities. In special training tracks, which are discussed further under d. below, residents must satisfy the 225% requirement over the three years (PGY-2, PGY-3, PGY-4), four years (PGY-2, PGY-3, PGY-4, PGY-5), or five years (PGY-2, PGY-3, PGY-4, PGY-5, PGY-6) of dermatology training. In addition, special training tracks must include the equivalent of one one-half day clinic per week each year until the 225% requirement is met. Continuity of patient care should be stressed as much as possible in this clinic experience. Rotations on the consultation service, for a period comparable to the time similarly scheduled for general dermatology residents, may be substituted for the clinic time during the special training track years of the residency.

    Dermatopathology, microbiology, and other basic science lectures, seminars, and conferences are essential components of the resident's training (see the Program Requirements for Residency Training in Dermatology).

    The Board also emphasizes the importance of basic science and clinical investigation in the educational experience of trainees. Accordingly, all residents should participate in basic sciense and/or clinical research during their training.

    d) For those candidates whose career plans involve a primary commitment to investigative or academic dermatology, a special training track, which must assure adequate clinical education and experience in accordance with the general requirements described above, may also be acceptable. Program directors should contact the Executive Director of the Board for information concerning this special track, such as eligibility requirements and when and how to submit applications to the Board. The essential elements of such training tracks are as follows:

    1) The first year (PGY2) of this track must be at least 75% clinical in character.

    2) Investigative or academic experience can be integrated with the required additional clinical training during the second (PGY3) and/or third (PGY4) year/s.

    3) Please refer to c.) above.

    4) Requests for approval of this special track must be submitted prospectively, at least four (4) months prior to the beginning of such training. This will be on or before March 1 of the PGY2 year for a special track beginning on July 1 of the PGY3 year, or later if a special training track is to begin later. Requests earlier than January 1 of the PGY2 year will not be considered because the program director must have had an opportunity to judge the clinical potential of the trainee.

    The request for consideration of this investigative/ academic track must include details of the scheduled program and time commitments during the entire training period of these candidates. It is incumbent upon program directors to select candidates for this special training track whose skills and learning capabilities permit the acquisition of clinical competence as well as the execution of their investigative or academic responsibilities. Moreover, the program director must monitor the training of these residents throughout their residency and must validate their clinical experience at the completion of their residencies.

  • A Preliminary Registration Form must be filed by the candidate and signed by his/her training director shortly after the resident begins residency training in dermatology (i.e., by August 1st or within 30 days of the start of training).

  • It is mandatory that the training director submit a Yearly Report Form for each resident to the Board office by August 1st after completion of the first and second year of training and by May 15th for residents who will complete their third year of training on June 30th. Tabulation of Experience in Dermatologic Surgery forms from each resident are due in the Board office at this time as well. In order for a candidate to take the certifying examination, the training director must certify that each year of training was completed in a satisfactory manner.

  • Training must be completed within five years after the beginning of dermatology residency, except when military service or other compelling circumstances intervene.

  • It is the responsibility of the residency program director to determine if a resident has satisfactorily completed the required 3 years of dermatology training and is therefore eligible to sit for the certifying examination of the American Board of Dermatology (see the Guidelines for Determining Adequacy of Clinical Training).