Pediatric Hospital Medicine Certification

• To be eligible, an individual must:
  • Hold a current certification in general pediatrics
  • Satisfactorily meet either the training pathway requirements for pediatric hospital medicine or the practice pathway requirements.  If applying through practice pathway, accrue practice experience by June 30 of the year of application
  • Possess a current, unrestricted medical license  

• The first exam will be given on a single day in November 2019. Applicants may access the application on the ABP website from February - April 2019. The exact day of the examination and the dates of registration will be established in the spring 2018. 
• Subspecialty examinations are given on alternate years; therefore, the exam is expected to be administered on odd years in the fall.  

• Individuals must have completed at least two years of pediatric hospital medicine training in a pediatric hospital medicine program in the US or Canada associated with an accredited general pediatrics training program. For first-time applicants, the training must have been completed within the previous seven years. 

• You may qualify if your clinical training focused on the care of the hospitalized child and provided the depth and breadth of clinical training experiences, supervised by qualified hospitalists, comparable to that offered in a pediatric hospital medicine training program. A description of your training must be submitted by your program director during the application process. For first-time applicants, the training must be completed within the previous seven years.

• An application has been submitted to the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education(ACGME) to initiate the accreditation process. When the timetable for accreditation of programs is known, the ABP will establish a date by which fellows who enter training must enter an accredited pediatric hospital medicine program. Trainees who enter fellowship training in nonaccredited training programs before this date may complete training in the nonaccredited program and apply for certification if the training was completed within the previous seven years.

• Once the timetable for accreditation of training programs is established, the ABP will set a date by which fellows will be required to meet the requirements for Scholarly Activity, including the requirement for a Scholarship Oversight Committee to be established for each fellow at the start of training and for a written scholarly work product to be provided to the ABP. 

• The required two years of fellowship may be completed on a part-time basis over no more than a four-year period.   

• ABP will announce when SITE for Pediatric Hospital Medicine will be available once training programs become accredited.  

• When there is a new subspecialty certification, the ABP allows those individuals who are expert subspecialists and already practicing the discipline (often for many years) to have access to the examination without having to go back and complete formal fellowship training. In fact, they may even be the individuals who “established” the subspecialty and direct the non-accredited fellowship programs that already exist. This practice pathway is not meant to offer a means to informally train in the discipline or to serve as an apprentice outside of a formal fellowship program. For individuals who are in residency, one way to assure eligibility for certification is to enter a fellowship training program and complete the required training. However, the ABP will accept those who qualify for the practice pathway as defined in the eligibility criteria. Residents graduating in 2019 may be able to accrue the four years of practice by 2023, the final year the practice pathway will be offered.

Details may be found in the Eligibility Criteria.

• To meet the practice pathway requirements, the most recent four years of full-time practice must have consisted of at least 50% time spent in engaging in professional activities (clinical care, teaching, quality improvement, research, administration, etc.) related to the care of hospitalized children.  At least 25% of full-time professional practice must be devoted to the direct patient care of children.  In general, full-time is considered at least 40 hours per week.  Therefore, an applicant’s direct care of patients should average 10 hours per week, or 450-500 hours per year over the most recent four years.  Between 900-1000 hours per year over the most recent four years should be spent overall in the practice of pediatric hospital medicine.

• Individuals who are practicing as hospitalists caring for both adults and children may use non-patient care related professional time toward the requirements, but must spend at least 25% of their full-time professional activity in the direct care of hospitalized children. The additional required time may consist of patient care of hospitalized children or non-patient care, professional activities related to adults.  

• Individuals who practice part-time may qualify for the practice pathway if the minimum requirements are met. The part-time practice must be equivalent to 50% of full-time professional activity, with half of that time spent in the direct care of hospitalized children.  In general, full-time is considered at least 40 hours per week.  Therefore, an applicant’s direct care of patients should average 10 hours per week, or 450-500 hours per year over the most recent four years.  Between 900-1000 hours per year over the most recent four years should be spent in the overall practice of pediatric hospital medicine (clinical care, teaching, quality improvement, research, administration, etc).

• The ABP will ask that you provide information that describes your practice experience, including the scope of your practice and your practice environment as part of your application for certification.  
• Also, an Evaluation Form must be completed by:
  • the pediatric program director of the pediatric hospital medicine training program at the institution, if applicable, OR
  • the pediatric hospital medicine division director, OR
  • the pediatric department chair, OR
  • the chief of pediatrics or chief of staff

The Evaluation Form will also seek specific information about the nature of your practice and the practice environment and the evaluator will be asked to attest to your practice as a pediatric hospitalist and verify that you have met the time requirements. 

• You should only include information on your application that describes the most recent four years of your practice experience. 

• The Practice Pathway will be available for first-time applicants for the first three exam cycles:  2019, 2021, 2023.  First-time applicants must have completed the requirements for the practice pathway in the most recent four years. For example, a first-time applicant using the practice pathway in 2019 must meet the practice requirements over the most recent four years (2015-2019).         
• Once an application is accepted for the first time, the applicant has seven years to become certified. See the Time-Limited Eligibility section for more detailed information regarding eligibility.

• An exception may be considered for an individual who does not meet the requirement if there is substantial prior experience in pediatric hospital medicine. For example, if an individual interrupted practice for family leave or other such circumstances, but the previous practice experience amply fulfilled the requirements, it is likely that the ABP would approve the applicant. Such exceptions are made at the discretion of the ABP and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.  

• An exception may be considered for an individual who does not meet the requirement if there is a substantial prior experience in pediatric hospital medicine. Such exceptions are made at the discretion of the ABP and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

• The certificate in pediatric hospital medicine is intended for those whose practice encompasses the delivery of comprehensive medical care to hospitalized patients including those with acute serious complications of common problems, those more complicated patients with multiple co-morbidities and/or injuries, complex chronic diseases, special healthcare needs, technology dependency and those needing palliative care. Therefore, a niche practice limited to one population of hospitalized children would not qualify one for the practice pathway.  

• Your chief residency experience may qualify toward the accrual of practice if your experience meets the practice requirements.  At least 50% time during this year must be spent engaged in unsupervised professional activities (clinical care, teaching, quality improvement, research, administration, etc.) related to the care of hospitalized children.  Your direct care of hospitalized patients should average 10 hours per week, or 450-500 hours over the chief year.

• Not unless you also have one year of pediatric hospital medicine training. Individuals applying through the practice pathway must accrue at least four years of time spent at least 50% FTE before they may be accepted for the exam. Those who have less than four years of qualifying practice at the time of the exam given in 2019 must accrue additional practice time before applying for an exam in 2021 or 2023. Individuals who will not accrue four years of qualifying practice in time for the exam given in 2023 will be unable to apply using the practice route and must complete the requirements for training.  

• For each exam and application period, practice must be accrued by a specific deadline for the ABP to have adequate time to review and approve the application. See the table in the eligibility criteria for deadlines.  

• When candidates apply through the practice pathway, the application is reviewed against the criteria and if an individual is denied entry to the examination, there is an opportunity to appeal.  For example, if an individual is short several weeks and substantial prior practice experience has been verified, an exception may be considered.  More detailed information may be required of such applicants.  Decisions are made on a case-by-case basis at the time of application and not prospectively.   

• Individuals who have completed a one-year fellowship must have completed the training in a program in the US or Canada that is associated with an accredited general pediatrics training program AND fulfill the requirements for two years of practice in pediatric hospital medicine.
• The practice experience and training must be completed within the most recent four years.

For the first three examinations, a first-time applicant must have completed training within the previous seven years. This means that if you apply for the 2019 exam, your training must have been completed no earlier than 2012. Once approved as a first-time applicant, you have seven years of eligibility to pass the exam. For example, if you are approved for the 2019 exam, you will have seven years (2026) to become certified in pediatric hospital medicine. However, because the examination is given in odd years, the last exam you could take would be the one offered in 2025 before your eligibility expired. If you are unsuccessful or do not take the exam, the “time clock” for eligibility does not reset. See below:

If your training was completed prior to 2012, you must apply through the practice pathway.

The practice pathway is open to first-time applicants for three exam cycles (2019, 2021, 2023). A first-time applicant must demonstrate that the most recent four years of practice experience met the requirements for practice. Once approved as a first-time applicant, you will have seven years to pass the exam. If you are unsuccessful or do not take the exam, the “time clock” for eligibility does not reset.  

• For any applicant whose eligibility expires, regardless of whether he/she applied through the practice pathway or the training pathway or combination pathway, a six-month period of supervised practice experience must be completed in a pediatric hospital medicine program. Please refer to the ABP’s policy, Time-Limited Eligibility for Initial Certifying Examinations and the accompanying FAQ and Plan for Assessment of Competence in a Subspecialty in the Accredited Training Program for details.

• For an individual just beginning a career, the ABP advises the completion of training requirements. The practice pathway is not intended to be a prospective pathway leading to certification. It is intended to allow leaders in the field, those who established the subspecialty discipline before training programs were established, and those who are currently practicing the discipline to access the certifying examination without completing training. Once a discipline is approved for certification, the ABP advises graduating residents to complete the training requirements. Following the announcement of a new subspecialty certification, the next step is to establish accredited training programs and to set a deadline by which all future trainees must enter accredited training programs.

• 2019. A trainee graduating 6/30/2019 could accrue time from 7/1/2019 – 6/30/2023 and be eligible for the 2023 exam. Trainees graduating after 2019 would not be able to meet the four-year pediatric hospital medicine practice criteria to qualify for the practice pathway by the 2023 board exam.

• It is not possible to provide an answer at this time because the timeline of program accreditation is unknown. The ABP has not established a date by which trainees must enter training in an accredited program.

• No, an individual must be certified by the ABP in general pediatrics to take a certifying examination in any pediatric subspecialty. Individuals who have completed ALL general pediatrics training in a program accredited by ACGME and AOA should contact the ABP for more information.

• As a General Pediatrics permanent certificate holder, participation in MOC is voluntary. Once you become certified in pediatric hospital medicine you must meet MOC requirements in pediatric hospital medicine to remain certified in the subspecialty.

• To become certified in Pediatric Hospital Medicine, you must first regain your certification in General Pediatrics. You must enroll in MOC, have a valid, unrestricted medical license, earn a combined total of 100 MOC points of approved Part 2 and Part 4 activities and must have passed the General Pediatrics MOC examination within the last 10 years. An alternative to the MOC secure examination called MOCA-Peds is currently being piloted.

• No. The ABP allows diplomates to maintain subspecialty certification without simultaneously maintaining certification in General Pediatrics.