Appendix 2: American Osteopathic Association Specialty Board Certification

J. Michael Wieting; Daniel G. Williams; Kathy A. Kelly; Leo Morales-Egizi

doi:10.7556/jaoa.2018.053

The certification process is an important assessment tool for enhancing the quality of health care and protecting the public. Certification demonstrates a standard of excellence for osteopathic physicians, including quality of services and commitment to lifelong learning. In addition, many health care facilities and insurers require physicians to be board certified.

Since its establishment in 1939, the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (BOS), the official certifying body of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), has issued 49,058 certifications, including primary certifications, subspecialty certifications, and certifications of added qualifications (family medicine and preventive medicine only). As of December 31, 2017, a total of 31,762 osteopathic physicians were certified by the AOA and held a combined total of 36,982 active certifications, representing a 7% increase over the number of active certifications held in 2016 (34,555).

The Table provides the total number of new certifications and osteopathic continuous certification (OCC) completions processed in 2017, as well as the total number of active certifications. This information is provided by specialty and in the aggregate. In total, 2206 certifications were processed in 2017, as follows:

■ primary specialty: 1891
■ subspecialty: 224
■ certification of added qualifications (family medicine and preventive medicine only): 91

Table.

Certification Statistics 2017, Currently-Offered Certifications^a

			No. (%)
American Osteopathic Board of…	Certification Type	Description	New Certifications	Osteopathic Continuous Certifications	Total Active Certifications
Anesthesiology	Primary	Anesthesiology	48 (2)	11 (1)	704 (2)
	Subspecialty	Critical care	3 (<1)	0	10 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pain management	4 (<1)	0	78 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric anesthesiology	3 (<1)	0	12 (<1)
Dermatology	Primary	Dermatology	0	1 (<1)	608 (2)
	Subspecialty	Mohs micrographic surgery	0	0	39 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric dermatology	0	0	10 (<1)
Emergency Medicine	Primary	Emergency medicine	294 (13)	205 (15)	3530 (10)
	Subspecialty	Emergency medical services	2 (<1)	0	7 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Medical toxicology	1 (<1)	2 (<1)	14 (<1)
Family Physicians	Primary	Family medicine/OMT	628 (28)	367 (27)	13,179 (36)
	CAQ	Adolescent and young adult medicine^b	0	0	7 (<1)
	CAQ	Geriatric medicine	4 (<1)	14 (1)	290 (1)
Internal Medicine	Primary	Internal medicine	174 (8)	144 (11)	5169 (14)
	Subspecialty	Cardiology	16 (1)	30 (2)	594 (2)
	Subspecialty	Clinical cardiac electrophysiology	3 (<1)	7 (1)	29 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Critical care	3 (<1)	7 (1)	198 (1)
	Subspecialty	Endocrinology	5 (<1)	2 (<1)	58 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Gastroenterology	13 (1)	16 (1)	283 (1)
	Subspecialty	Geriatrics	2 (<1)	1 (<1)	56 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Hematology	7 (<1)	2 (<1)	65 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Infectious diseases	7 (<1)	5 (<1)	97 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Interventional cardiology	3 (<1)	6 (<1)	133 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Nephrology	13 (1)	7 (1)	165 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Oncology	3 (<1)	1 (<1)	124 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pulmonary diseases	25 (1)	11 (1)	255 (1)
	Subspecialty	Rheumatology	3 (<1)	2 (<1)	89 (<1)
Neurology and Psychiatry	Primary	Neurology	12 (1)	19 (1)	280 (1)
	Primary	Psychiatry	28 (1)	24 (2)	339 (1)
	Subspecialty	Child neurology	0	0	3 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Child psychiatry	3 (<1)	0	45 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Geriatric psychiatry	0	0	15 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neurophysiology	1 (<1)	0	25 (<1)
NMM	Primary	NMM/OMM^c	35 (2)	32 (2)	759 (2)
Nuclear Medicine	Primary	Nuclear medicine^d	0	0	20 (<1)
Obstetrics and Gynecology	Primary	Obstetrics and gynecology^c	87 (4)	150 (11)	1461 (4)
	Subspecialty	Female pelvic medicine/reconstructive surgery	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Gynecologic oncology	1 (<1)	2 (<1)	17 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Maternal and fetal medicine	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	35 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Reproductive endocrinology	0	1 (<1)	13 (<1)
Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery	Primary	Ophthalmology	18 (1)	13 (1)	407 (1)
	Primary	Otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery^c	21 (1)	10 (1)	525 (1)
	Subspecialty	Otolaryngic allergy	1 (<1)	0	22 (<1)
Orthopedic Surgery	Primary	Orthopedic surgery	98 (4)	103 (8)	1491 (4)
Orthopedic Surgery	Subspecialty	Hand surgery	4 (<1)	4 (<1)	71 (<1)
Pathology	Primary	Anatomic pathology	0	0	23 (<1)
	Primary	Anatomic pathology and laboratory medicine^b	0	0	11 (<1)
	Primary	Laboratory medicine	0	0	14 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Forensic pathology	0	0	4 (<1)
Pediatrics	Primary	Pediatrics	63 (3)	1 (<1)	648 (2)
	Subspecialty	Adolescent medicine	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neonatology	0	0	36 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric endocrinology	0	0	3 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric pulmonology^b	0	0	2 (<1)
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation	Primary	Physical medicine and rehabilitation	22 (1)	1 (<1)	295 (1)
Preventive Medicine	Primary	Aerospace medicine	0	3 (<1)	33 (<1)
	Primary	Occupational-environmental medicine^c	0	7 (1)	82 (<1)
	Primary	Public health	0	2 (<1)	34 (<1)
	CAQ	Occupational medicine	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	46 (<1)
Proctology	Primary	Proctology	2 (<1)	1 (<1)	28 (<1)
Radiology	Primary	Diagnostic radiology^c	31 (1)	17 (1)	797 (2)
	Primary	Radiation oncology	0	1 (<1)	19 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Angiography and interventional radiology^b	0	0	18 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Body imaging^b	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Diagnostic ultrasound^b	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neuroradiology	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	76 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Nuclear radiology^b	0	0	4 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric radiology	1 (<1)	1 (<1)	23 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Radiation therapy^b	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Vascular/interventional radiology	2 (<1)	2 (<1)	22 (<1)
Surgery	Primary	Cardiothoracic surgery^c	11 (<1)	2 (<1)	74 (<1)
	Primary	General surgery	218 (10)	59 (4)	1436 (4)
	Primary	General vascular surgery	18 (1)	3 (<1)	151 (<1)
	Primary	Neurological surgery	31 (1)	2 (<1)	169 (<1)
	Primary	Plastic and reconstructive surgery	14 (1)	6 (<1)	99 (<1)
	Primary	Urological surgery	38 (2)	15 (1)	278 (1)
	Subspecialty	Surgical critical care	33 (1)	7 (1)	138 (<1)
Conjoint	Subspecialty/CAQ	Addiction medicine	74 (3)	4 (<1)	84 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Adult and pediatric allergy and immunology	5 (<1)	0	34 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Correctional medicine	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Dermatopathology	1 (<1)	1 (<1)	15 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Hospice and palliative medicine	12 (1)	0	381 (1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Pain medicine	21 (1)	0	108 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Sleep medicine	3 (<1)	4 (<1)	90 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Sports medicine	26 (1)	10 (1)	301 (1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Undersea and hyperbaric medicine	1 (<1)	0	48 (<1)
Totals			2206	1357	36,982

^a Data are current as of December 31, 2017.

^b No longer issued.

^c Specialties that are no longer offered but are equivalent to currently offered specialties have been combined as appropriate. These specialties are as follows: special proficiency in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) has been combined with neuromusculoskeletal medicine (NMM)/OMM; obstetrics and gynecologic surgery has been combined with obstetrics and gynecology; facial plastic surgery, otolaryngology, and otorhinolaryngology have been combined with otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery; preventive-occupational medicine has been combined with occupational-environmental medicine; diagnostic roentgenology, radiology, and roentgenology have been combined with diagnostic radiology; and thoracic cardiovascular surgery and thoracic surgery have been combined with cardiothoracic surgery.

^d New certifications in nuclear medicine are no longer issued. The American Osteopathic Board of Nuclear Medicine manages the Osteopathic Continuous Certification process for existing certifications in nuclear medicine.

Abbreviations: CAQ, Certificate of Added Qualifications; OMT, osteopathic manipulative treatment.

View Large

Table.

Certification Statistics 2017, Currently-Offered Certifications^a

			No. (%)
American Osteopathic Board of…	Certification Type	Description	New Certifications	Osteopathic Continuous Certifications	Total Active Certifications
Anesthesiology	Primary	Anesthesiology	48 (2)	11 (1)	704 (2)
	Subspecialty	Critical care	3 (<1)	0	10 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pain management	4 (<1)	0	78 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric anesthesiology	3 (<1)	0	12 (<1)
Dermatology	Primary	Dermatology	0	1 (<1)	608 (2)
	Subspecialty	Mohs micrographic surgery	0	0	39 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric dermatology	0	0	10 (<1)
Emergency Medicine	Primary	Emergency medicine	294 (13)	205 (15)	3530 (10)
	Subspecialty	Emergency medical services	2 (<1)	0	7 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Medical toxicology	1 (<1)	2 (<1)	14 (<1)
Family Physicians	Primary	Family medicine/OMT	628 (28)	367 (27)	13,179 (36)
	CAQ	Adolescent and young adult medicine^b	0	0	7 (<1)
	CAQ	Geriatric medicine	4 (<1)	14 (1)	290 (1)
Internal Medicine	Primary	Internal medicine	174 (8)	144 (11)	5169 (14)
	Subspecialty	Cardiology	16 (1)	30 (2)	594 (2)
	Subspecialty	Clinical cardiac electrophysiology	3 (<1)	7 (1)	29 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Critical care	3 (<1)	7 (1)	198 (1)
	Subspecialty	Endocrinology	5 (<1)	2 (<1)	58 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Gastroenterology	13 (1)	16 (1)	283 (1)
	Subspecialty	Geriatrics	2 (<1)	1 (<1)	56 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Hematology	7 (<1)	2 (<1)	65 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Infectious diseases	7 (<1)	5 (<1)	97 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Interventional cardiology	3 (<1)	6 (<1)	133 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Nephrology	13 (1)	7 (1)	165 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Oncology	3 (<1)	1 (<1)	124 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pulmonary diseases	25 (1)	11 (1)	255 (1)
	Subspecialty	Rheumatology	3 (<1)	2 (<1)	89 (<1)
Neurology and Psychiatry	Primary	Neurology	12 (1)	19 (1)	280 (1)
	Primary	Psychiatry	28 (1)	24 (2)	339 (1)
	Subspecialty	Child neurology	0	0	3 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Child psychiatry	3 (<1)	0	45 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Geriatric psychiatry	0	0	15 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neurophysiology	1 (<1)	0	25 (<1)
NMM	Primary	NMM/OMM^c	35 (2)	32 (2)	759 (2)
Nuclear Medicine	Primary	Nuclear medicine^d	0	0	20 (<1)
Obstetrics and Gynecology	Primary	Obstetrics and gynecology^c	87 (4)	150 (11)	1461 (4)
	Subspecialty	Female pelvic medicine/reconstructive surgery	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Gynecologic oncology	1 (<1)	2 (<1)	17 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Maternal and fetal medicine	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	35 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Reproductive endocrinology	0	1 (<1)	13 (<1)
Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery	Primary	Ophthalmology	18 (1)	13 (1)	407 (1)
	Primary	Otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery^c	21 (1)	10 (1)	525 (1)
	Subspecialty	Otolaryngic allergy	1 (<1)	0	22 (<1)
Orthopedic Surgery	Primary	Orthopedic surgery	98 (4)	103 (8)	1491 (4)
Orthopedic Surgery	Subspecialty	Hand surgery	4 (<1)	4 (<1)	71 (<1)
Pathology	Primary	Anatomic pathology	0	0	23 (<1)
	Primary	Anatomic pathology and laboratory medicine^b	0	0	11 (<1)
	Primary	Laboratory medicine	0	0	14 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Forensic pathology	0	0	4 (<1)
Pediatrics	Primary	Pediatrics	63 (3)	1 (<1)	648 (2)
	Subspecialty	Adolescent medicine	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neonatology	0	0	36 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric endocrinology	0	0	3 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric pulmonology^b	0	0	2 (<1)
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation	Primary	Physical medicine and rehabilitation	22 (1)	1 (<1)	295 (1)
Preventive Medicine	Primary	Aerospace medicine	0	3 (<1)	33 (<1)
	Primary	Occupational-environmental medicine^c	0	7 (1)	82 (<1)
	Primary	Public health	0	2 (<1)	34 (<1)
	CAQ	Occupational medicine	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	46 (<1)
Proctology	Primary	Proctology	2 (<1)	1 (<1)	28 (<1)
Radiology	Primary	Diagnostic radiology^c	31 (1)	17 (1)	797 (2)
	Primary	Radiation oncology	0	1 (<1)	19 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Angiography and interventional radiology^b	0	0	18 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Body imaging^b	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Diagnostic ultrasound^b	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neuroradiology	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	76 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Nuclear radiology^b	0	0	4 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric radiology	1 (<1)	1 (<1)	23 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Radiation therapy^b	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Vascular/interventional radiology	2 (<1)	2 (<1)	22 (<1)
Surgery	Primary	Cardiothoracic surgery^c	11 (<1)	2 (<1)	74 (<1)
	Primary	General surgery	218 (10)	59 (4)	1436 (4)
	Primary	General vascular surgery	18 (1)	3 (<1)	151 (<1)
	Primary	Neurological surgery	31 (1)	2 (<1)	169 (<1)
	Primary	Plastic and reconstructive surgery	14 (1)	6 (<1)	99 (<1)
	Primary	Urological surgery	38 (2)	15 (1)	278 (1)
	Subspecialty	Surgical critical care	33 (1)	7 (1)	138 (<1)
Conjoint	Subspecialty/CAQ	Addiction medicine	74 (3)	4 (<1)	84 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Adult and pediatric allergy and immunology	5 (<1)	0	34 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Correctional medicine	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Dermatopathology	1 (<1)	1 (<1)	15 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Hospice and palliative medicine	12 (1)	0	381 (1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Pain medicine	21 (1)	0	108 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Sleep medicine	3 (<1)	4 (<1)	90 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Sports medicine	26 (1)	10 (1)	301 (1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Undersea and hyperbaric medicine	1 (<1)	0	48 (<1)
Totals			2206	1357	36,982

^a Data are current as of December 31, 2017.

^b No longer issued.

^c Specialties that are no longer offered but are equivalent to currently offered specialties have been combined as appropriate. These specialties are as follows: special proficiency in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) has been combined with neuromusculoskeletal medicine (NMM)/OMM; obstetrics and gynecologic surgery has been combined with obstetrics and gynecology; facial plastic surgery, otolaryngology, and otorhinolaryngology have been combined with otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery; preventive-occupational medicine has been combined with occupational-environmental medicine; diagnostic roentgenology, radiology, and roentgenology have been combined with diagnostic radiology; and thoracic cardiovascular surgery and thoracic surgery have been combined with cardiothoracic surgery.

^d New certifications in nuclear medicine are no longer issued. The American Osteopathic Board of Nuclear Medicine manages the Osteopathic Continuous Certification process for existing certifications in nuclear medicine.

Abbreviations: CAQ, Certificate of Added Qualifications; OMT, osteopathic manipulative treatment.

In addition, 1357 OCC completions were processed in 2017.

Since 2013, the number of active board certifications held has risen steadily (Figure). This number is expected to continue to rise in the future.

Figure.

Total active certifications held, 2013 to 2017. ^aThe number of certifications awarded in 2013 was previously reported as 30,267. However, the correct number of certifications for 2013 is 30,168 and is reflected in this figure.

View Original | Slide (.ppt)

Recent Activities in Certification

In January 2017, the AOA empaneled the AOA Certifying Board Services (CBS) Task Force II to address the directive of enhancing board certification services and marketability to make AOA board certification more attractive and competitive. Specifically, the Task Force was charged with addressing the following goals:

■ Align board leadership structure to strengthen physician-led, professionally managed relationships. The demands on CBS have grown substantially, and the expectations placed on the CBS are more than the current system can handle. The goal is to have working physicians serve as the backbone of AOA certification while allowing them to focus on specific tasks that require a physician's skill set and expertise. Nonphysicians can thus provide administrative support to those efforts.
■ Unify the certifying boards through common practices, bylaws, reporting processes, operational alignment, and expenses.
■ Develop uniform, reasonable, and competitive examination fees.

The Task Force presented its recommendations to the BOS at its midyear meeting on April 8, 2017. Several of these recommendations are currently being implemented by CBS. For example, board meetings are being aligned into a cluster-based system to facilitate communication. Initiatives to standardize operations to ensure consistent products are also underway.

Editor's Note: This article is an update of last year's appendix (http://jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2613999) on AOA specialty board certification.

Figure.

Total active certifications held, 2013 to 2017. ^aThe number of certifications awarded in 2013 was previously reported as 30,267. However, the correct number of certifications for 2013 is 30,168 and is reflected in this figure.

View Original | Slide (.ppt)

Table.

Certification Statistics 2017, Currently-Offered Certifications^a

			No. (%)
American Osteopathic Board of…	Certification Type	Description	New Certifications	Osteopathic Continuous Certifications	Total Active Certifications
Anesthesiology	Primary	Anesthesiology	48 (2)	11 (1)	704 (2)
	Subspecialty	Critical care	3 (<1)	0	10 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pain management	4 (<1)	0	78 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric anesthesiology	3 (<1)	0	12 (<1)
Dermatology	Primary	Dermatology	0	1 (<1)	608 (2)
	Subspecialty	Mohs micrographic surgery	0	0	39 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric dermatology	0	0	10 (<1)
Emergency Medicine	Primary	Emergency medicine	294 (13)	205 (15)	3530 (10)
	Subspecialty	Emergency medical services	2 (<1)	0	7 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Medical toxicology	1 (<1)	2 (<1)	14 (<1)
Family Physicians	Primary	Family medicine/OMT	628 (28)	367 (27)	13,179 (36)
	CAQ	Adolescent and young adult medicine^b	0	0	7 (<1)
	CAQ	Geriatric medicine	4 (<1)	14 (1)	290 (1)
Internal Medicine	Primary	Internal medicine	174 (8)	144 (11)	5169 (14)
	Subspecialty	Cardiology	16 (1)	30 (2)	594 (2)
	Subspecialty	Clinical cardiac electrophysiology	3 (<1)	7 (1)	29 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Critical care	3 (<1)	7 (1)	198 (1)
	Subspecialty	Endocrinology	5 (<1)	2 (<1)	58 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Gastroenterology	13 (1)	16 (1)	283 (1)
	Subspecialty	Geriatrics	2 (<1)	1 (<1)	56 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Hematology	7 (<1)	2 (<1)	65 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Infectious diseases	7 (<1)	5 (<1)	97 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Interventional cardiology	3 (<1)	6 (<1)	133 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Nephrology	13 (1)	7 (1)	165 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Oncology	3 (<1)	1 (<1)	124 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pulmonary diseases	25 (1)	11 (1)	255 (1)
	Subspecialty	Rheumatology	3 (<1)	2 (<1)	89 (<1)
Neurology and Psychiatry	Primary	Neurology	12 (1)	19 (1)	280 (1)
	Primary	Psychiatry	28 (1)	24 (2)	339 (1)
	Subspecialty	Child neurology	0	0	3 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Child psychiatry	3 (<1)	0	45 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Geriatric psychiatry	0	0	15 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neurophysiology	1 (<1)	0	25 (<1)
NMM	Primary	NMM/OMM^c	35 (2)	32 (2)	759 (2)
Nuclear Medicine	Primary	Nuclear medicine^d	0	0	20 (<1)
Obstetrics and Gynecology	Primary	Obstetrics and gynecology^c	87 (4)	150 (11)	1461 (4)
	Subspecialty	Female pelvic medicine/reconstructive surgery	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Gynecologic oncology	1 (<1)	2 (<1)	17 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Maternal and fetal medicine	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	35 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Reproductive endocrinology	0	1 (<1)	13 (<1)
Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery	Primary	Ophthalmology	18 (1)	13 (1)	407 (1)
	Primary	Otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery^c	21 (1)	10 (1)	525 (1)
	Subspecialty	Otolaryngic allergy	1 (<1)	0	22 (<1)
Orthopedic Surgery	Primary	Orthopedic surgery	98 (4)	103 (8)	1491 (4)
Orthopedic Surgery	Subspecialty	Hand surgery	4 (<1)	4 (<1)	71 (<1)
Pathology	Primary	Anatomic pathology	0	0	23 (<1)
	Primary	Anatomic pathology and laboratory medicine^b	0	0	11 (<1)
	Primary	Laboratory medicine	0	0	14 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Forensic pathology	0	0	4 (<1)
Pediatrics	Primary	Pediatrics	63 (3)	1 (<1)	648 (2)
	Subspecialty	Adolescent medicine	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neonatology	0	0	36 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric endocrinology	0	0	3 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric pulmonology^b	0	0	2 (<1)
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation	Primary	Physical medicine and rehabilitation	22 (1)	1 (<1)	295 (1)
Preventive Medicine	Primary	Aerospace medicine	0	3 (<1)	33 (<1)
	Primary	Occupational-environmental medicine^c	0	7 (1)	82 (<1)
	Primary	Public health	0	2 (<1)	34 (<1)
	CAQ	Occupational medicine	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	46 (<1)
Proctology	Primary	Proctology	2 (<1)	1 (<1)	28 (<1)
Radiology	Primary	Diagnostic radiology^c	31 (1)	17 (1)	797 (2)
	Primary	Radiation oncology	0	1 (<1)	19 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Angiography and interventional radiology^b	0	0	18 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Body imaging^b	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Diagnostic ultrasound^b	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neuroradiology	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	76 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Nuclear radiology^b	0	0	4 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric radiology	1 (<1)	1 (<1)	23 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Radiation therapy^b	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Vascular/interventional radiology	2 (<1)	2 (<1)	22 (<1)
Surgery	Primary	Cardiothoracic surgery^c	11 (<1)	2 (<1)	74 (<1)
	Primary	General surgery	218 (10)	59 (4)	1436 (4)
	Primary	General vascular surgery	18 (1)	3 (<1)	151 (<1)
	Primary	Neurological surgery	31 (1)	2 (<1)	169 (<1)
	Primary	Plastic and reconstructive surgery	14 (1)	6 (<1)	99 (<1)
	Primary	Urological surgery	38 (2)	15 (1)	278 (1)
	Subspecialty	Surgical critical care	33 (1)	7 (1)	138 (<1)
Conjoint	Subspecialty/CAQ	Addiction medicine	74 (3)	4 (<1)	84 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Adult and pediatric allergy and immunology	5 (<1)	0	34 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Correctional medicine	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Dermatopathology	1 (<1)	1 (<1)	15 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Hospice and palliative medicine	12 (1)	0	381 (1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Pain medicine	21 (1)	0	108 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Sleep medicine	3 (<1)	4 (<1)	90 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Sports medicine	26 (1)	10 (1)	301 (1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Undersea and hyperbaric medicine	1 (<1)	0	48 (<1)
Totals			2206	1357	36,982

^a Data are current as of December 31, 2017.

^b No longer issued.

^c Specialties that are no longer offered but are equivalent to currently offered specialties have been combined as appropriate. These specialties are as follows: special proficiency in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) has been combined with neuromusculoskeletal medicine (NMM)/OMM; obstetrics and gynecologic surgery has been combined with obstetrics and gynecology; facial plastic surgery, otolaryngology, and otorhinolaryngology have been combined with otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery; preventive-occupational medicine has been combined with occupational-environmental medicine; diagnostic roentgenology, radiology, and roentgenology have been combined with diagnostic radiology; and thoracic cardiovascular surgery and thoracic surgery have been combined with cardiothoracic surgery.

^d New certifications in nuclear medicine are no longer issued. The American Osteopathic Board of Nuclear Medicine manages the Osteopathic Continuous Certification process for existing certifications in nuclear medicine.

Abbreviations: CAQ, Certificate of Added Qualifications; OMT, osteopathic manipulative treatment.

View Large

Table.

Certification Statistics 2017, Currently-Offered Certifications^a

			No. (%)
American Osteopathic Board of…	Certification Type	Description	New Certifications	Osteopathic Continuous Certifications	Total Active Certifications
Anesthesiology	Primary	Anesthesiology	48 (2)	11 (1)	704 (2)
	Subspecialty	Critical care	3 (<1)	0	10 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pain management	4 (<1)	0	78 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric anesthesiology	3 (<1)	0	12 (<1)
Dermatology	Primary	Dermatology	0	1 (<1)	608 (2)
	Subspecialty	Mohs micrographic surgery	0	0	39 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric dermatology	0	0	10 (<1)
Emergency Medicine	Primary	Emergency medicine	294 (13)	205 (15)	3530 (10)
	Subspecialty	Emergency medical services	2 (<1)	0	7 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Medical toxicology	1 (<1)	2 (<1)	14 (<1)
Family Physicians	Primary	Family medicine/OMT	628 (28)	367 (27)	13,179 (36)
	CAQ	Adolescent and young adult medicine^b	0	0	7 (<1)
	CAQ	Geriatric medicine	4 (<1)	14 (1)	290 (1)
Internal Medicine	Primary	Internal medicine	174 (8)	144 (11)	5169 (14)
	Subspecialty	Cardiology	16 (1)	30 (2)	594 (2)
	Subspecialty	Clinical cardiac electrophysiology	3 (<1)	7 (1)	29 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Critical care	3 (<1)	7 (1)	198 (1)
	Subspecialty	Endocrinology	5 (<1)	2 (<1)	58 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Gastroenterology	13 (1)	16 (1)	283 (1)
	Subspecialty	Geriatrics	2 (<1)	1 (<1)	56 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Hematology	7 (<1)	2 (<1)	65 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Infectious diseases	7 (<1)	5 (<1)	97 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Interventional cardiology	3 (<1)	6 (<1)	133 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Nephrology	13 (1)	7 (1)	165 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Oncology	3 (<1)	1 (<1)	124 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pulmonary diseases	25 (1)	11 (1)	255 (1)
	Subspecialty	Rheumatology	3 (<1)	2 (<1)	89 (<1)
Neurology and Psychiatry	Primary	Neurology	12 (1)	19 (1)	280 (1)
	Primary	Psychiatry	28 (1)	24 (2)	339 (1)
	Subspecialty	Child neurology	0	0	3 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Child psychiatry	3 (<1)	0	45 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Geriatric psychiatry	0	0	15 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neurophysiology	1 (<1)	0	25 (<1)
NMM	Primary	NMM/OMM^c	35 (2)	32 (2)	759 (2)
Nuclear Medicine	Primary	Nuclear medicine^d	0	0	20 (<1)
Obstetrics and Gynecology	Primary	Obstetrics and gynecology^c	87 (4)	150 (11)	1461 (4)
	Subspecialty	Female pelvic medicine/reconstructive surgery	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Gynecologic oncology	1 (<1)	2 (<1)	17 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Maternal and fetal medicine	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	35 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Reproductive endocrinology	0	1 (<1)	13 (<1)
Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery	Primary	Ophthalmology	18 (1)	13 (1)	407 (1)
	Primary	Otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery^c	21 (1)	10 (1)	525 (1)
	Subspecialty	Otolaryngic allergy	1 (<1)	0	22 (<1)
Orthopedic Surgery	Primary	Orthopedic surgery	98 (4)	103 (8)	1491 (4)
Orthopedic Surgery	Subspecialty	Hand surgery	4 (<1)	4 (<1)	71 (<1)
Pathology	Primary	Anatomic pathology	0	0	23 (<1)
	Primary	Anatomic pathology and laboratory medicine^b	0	0	11 (<1)
	Primary	Laboratory medicine	0	0	14 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Forensic pathology	0	0	4 (<1)
Pediatrics	Primary	Pediatrics	63 (3)	1 (<1)	648 (2)
	Subspecialty	Adolescent medicine	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neonatology	0	0	36 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric endocrinology	0	0	3 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric pulmonology^b	0	0	2 (<1)
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation	Primary	Physical medicine and rehabilitation	22 (1)	1 (<1)	295 (1)
Preventive Medicine	Primary	Aerospace medicine	0	3 (<1)	33 (<1)
	Primary	Occupational-environmental medicine^c	0	7 (1)	82 (<1)
	Primary	Public health	0	2 (<1)	34 (<1)
	CAQ	Occupational medicine	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	46 (<1)
Proctology	Primary	Proctology	2 (<1)	1 (<1)	28 (<1)
Radiology	Primary	Diagnostic radiology^c	31 (1)	17 (1)	797 (2)
	Primary	Radiation oncology	0	1 (<1)	19 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Angiography and interventional radiology^b	0	0	18 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Body imaging^b	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Diagnostic ultrasound^b	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Neuroradiology	2 (<1)	3 (<1)	76 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Nuclear radiology^b	0	0	4 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Pediatric radiology	1 (<1)	1 (<1)	23 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Radiation therapy^b	0	0	1 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Vascular/interventional radiology	2 (<1)	2 (<1)	22 (<1)
Surgery	Primary	Cardiothoracic surgery^c	11 (<1)	2 (<1)	74 (<1)
	Primary	General surgery	218 (10)	59 (4)	1436 (4)
	Primary	General vascular surgery	18 (1)	3 (<1)	151 (<1)
	Primary	Neurological surgery	31 (1)	2 (<1)	169 (<1)
	Primary	Plastic and reconstructive surgery	14 (1)	6 (<1)	99 (<1)
	Primary	Urological surgery	38 (2)	15 (1)	278 (1)
	Subspecialty	Surgical critical care	33 (1)	7 (1)	138 (<1)
Conjoint	Subspecialty/CAQ	Addiction medicine	74 (3)	4 (<1)	84 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Adult and pediatric allergy and immunology	5 (<1)	0	34 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Correctional medicine	0	0	8 (<1)
	Subspecialty	Dermatopathology	1 (<1)	1 (<1)	15 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Hospice and palliative medicine	12 (1)	0	381 (1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Pain medicine	21 (1)	0	108 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Sleep medicine	3 (<1)	4 (<1)	90 (<1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Sports medicine	26 (1)	10 (1)	301 (1)
	Subspecialty/CAQ	Undersea and hyperbaric medicine	1 (<1)	0	48 (<1)
Totals			2206	1357	36,982

^a Data are current as of December 31, 2017.

^b No longer issued.

^c Specialties that are no longer offered but are equivalent to currently offered specialties have been combined as appropriate. These specialties are as follows: special proficiency in osteopathic manipulative medicine (OMM) has been combined with neuromusculoskeletal medicine (NMM)/OMM; obstetrics and gynecologic surgery has been combined with obstetrics and gynecology; facial plastic surgery, otolaryngology, and otorhinolaryngology have been combined with otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery; preventive-occupational medicine has been combined with occupational-environmental medicine; diagnostic roentgenology, radiology, and roentgenology have been combined with diagnostic radiology; and thoracic cardiovascular surgery and thoracic surgery have been combined with cardiothoracic surgery.

^d New certifications in nuclear medicine are no longer issued. The American Osteopathic Board of Nuclear Medicine manages the Osteopathic Continuous Certification process for existing certifications in nuclear medicine.

Abbreviations: CAQ, Certificate of Added Qualifications; OMT, osteopathic manipulative treatment.

Appendix 2: American Osteopathic Association Specialty Board Certification

Related content

Related Topics