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Certification
The American Osteopathic Board of Pediatrics has outlined the following criteria as minimum requirements for certification:

Certification in General Pediatrics

1. The applicant must be a graduate of an AOA-accredited college of osteopathic medicine.
2. The applicant must show proof that he/she holds an unrestricted license to practice in the state or territory where his/her practice is conducted.
3. The applicant must have been a member in good standing of the AOA or the Canadian Osteopathic Association for the two (2) years immediately prior to the date of certification.
4. The applicant must conform to the ethical and moral standards as set forth in the Code of Ethics of the AOA.
5. A minimum of three (3) years of AOA-approved training in pediatrics shall be required. If the internship year was a pediatric specialty track, two (2) years of AOA-approved training shall be required .
6. Senior, third year, residents may apply to take the exam prior to completion of their residency program. The resident must have completed a minimum of thirty (30) months of the program by the time the exam is administered and must submit a letter from the residency program director stating that the resident is well prepared and qualified to take the exam. Exam scores will not be released until after the resident has successfully completed the residency program, has submitted all required documentation and has received approval from all involved parties.
7. Applicant must be Board Eligible. See Article VI for requirements.
   1. If the applicant is a resident at the time of examination, the applicant must apply for eligibility upon completion of the residency.
   2. Applicants who have completed their residency less than six (6) years prior to submitting an application and who have not yet applied for board eligibility must apply for board eligibility before being allowed to sit for the exam.
   3. If more that six (6) years have elapsed since completing their residency and the applicant has not previously applied for board eligibility, the applicant may not apply for board eligibility but will be allowed an additional six (6) years to complete the entire examination process.  In addition to meeting application requirements, remediation may be required of individual applicants.  See Article VI, section 4 for remediation criteria and Article IX, section 6 for failure criteria.
   4. The candidate identified in # 3 must petition the board to re-enter the certification process.  After approval by the board, re-entry into the certification process must be approved by the Standards Review Committee of the BOS.  The candidate then must take the certification exam at the next available administration of the exam and will be limited to two (2) attempts to pass.  If a failure occurs in the first attempt, the candidate must retake the exam at the next available administration of the exam.  A second failure precludes the candidate from the certification process.
   5. If certification has not been achieved twelve years after completion of the residency, no further attempts will be allowed.
8. Following satisfactory compliance with the prescribed requirements for examination, the applicant is required to pass appropriate examinations planned to evaluate an understanding of the scientific basis of the problems involved in pediatrics, familiarity with the current advances in pediatrics, possession of sound judgment and a high degree of skill in the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures involved in the practice of pediatrics.
1. Written examinations with a clinical component are conducted and required in the case of each applicant.
2. The members of this board shall review, if not perform, the grading of each written examination.  The conduct of the clinical portion of the written examination may be delegated to a committee of not fewer than two (2) individuals maturely qualified in pediatrics.
3. A full description of the method of conducting the examination is formulated in this Board's Regulations and Requirements, and provision for reexamination is made.
4. Osteopathic physicians desiring examination for certification are required to file an application which shall set forth the applicant's qualifications for examination as stated in paragraphs A. through G. in Section 1 of this article.  The procedure for filing applications is set forth in the Regulations and Requirements.
   

Certification in Pediatric Subspecialties

1. Be certified in pediatrics by the AOA through the AOBP.

2. Have completed one (1) year of AOA-approved subspecialty residency training and shall have practiced in the subspecialty for two (2) years, if training was completed prior to January 1, 1980.

   -If training was completed between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 1989, two (2) years of AOA-approved subspecialty residency training and one (1) year of subspecialty practice shall be required.

   -If training was completed after January 1, 1990, three (3) years of AOA-approved subspecialty residency training shall be required. The length of the fellowship is determined by the specialty track being used.

3. Individuals certified in pediatrics by the AOA through the AOBP may, under special circumstances, petition the Board to be admitted to the subspecialty examination process.

Understanding the Certification Process
An osteopathic physician has the option of entering an AOA- or ACGME-accredited Pediatrics residency program. Regardless of their residency program, the AOBP encourages all DOs interested in osteopathic Board certification in Pediatrics to apply.

During Your Osteopathic Pediatrics Residency
DOs enrolled in an AOA-approved (aka osteopathic) residency program who are interested in pursuing osteopathic Board certification must work with the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians to document residency training through the generation of yearly progress reports, which can be found on their website. Both the resident and his/her program director must complete and collaboratively review the forms for submission to the College. Both reports must be received by the College within thirty (30) days of the completion of the resident's program year contract date.

When the Graduate Medical Education Committee of the ACOP receives reports for each program year, which happens in the fall season, they will review and make recommendations, if applicable, to approve that year of training to the AOA, program director and resident. When the resident completes his/her residency, the ACOP will make a recommendation to the AOA to designate the osteopathic physician as "training complete," which means that the entirety of his/her Pediatrics residency has been approved by the College. When the AOA receives this recommendations, it will be reviewed and approved by the AOA's PTRC (Program and Trainee Review Council). At this point, the osteopathic physician will receive a letter indicating that the AOA and College have fully approved his/her training. The osteopathic physician may now apply for Board Eligible status from the AOBP for Board certification.
Board Eligible status is not granted automatically. A candidate has six (6) years following the completion of residency training or completion of the practice requirement to apply for Board Eligible status by the AOBP.

During Your Allopathic Pediatrics Residency/ABP-Certified Physician Seeking AOBP Certification
1. At the July 2009 Board of Trustee meeting a resolution was approved modifying the ACGME training approval process. The new process requires a DO who has successfully completed training from an ACGME residency program to submit paperwork to the AOA. AOA will serve as the only reviewer of this material.

2. The process requires the AOA to confirm that the DO has successfully completed training from the ACGME residency program. If a DO has completed training from the ACGME residency program. If a DO has completed the program and has submitted the appropriate paperwork, the DO will be granted approval of their ACGME training.

3. Applicants and materials will no longer be forwarded to Specialty Colleges & Affiliates. Additionally, Specialty Colleges & Affiliates will not review and approve ACGME training. If a DO has successfully completed an ACGME program and the AOA has verified the completion status, they will immediately receive approval.

4. These changes would follow precedent set through Resolution 56. The revised process to verify ACGME training to be eligible for AOA board certification would not preclude an ACGME-trained DO who seeks licensure in FLorida, Michigan, Oklahoma and/or Pennsylvania, from needing AOA approval of their first year of training through the Resolution 42 process. As an example, if a ACGME-trained DO practicing in Kentucky when he or she obtained AOA board certification through the expedited process outlined in this resolution, then decided to move to Pennsylvania to practice, he or she would need to apply for approval of training through the Resolution 42 pathway.

After receiving AOA approval of their residency, the osteopathic physician may then apply for Board Eligible status from the AOBP for Board certification. Board Eligible status is not granted automatically. A candidate has six (6) years following the completion of residency training or completion of the practice requirement to apply for Board Eligible status by the AOBP.

If you obtained Board Certification by the American Board of Pediatrics and are interested in pursuing Board Certification by the AOBP, you may be able to obtain eligibility for the AOBP examinations through AOA's Resolution 56, which grants eligibility to ABMS-certified osteopathic physicians. Click here for the application.

After Obtaining Board Eligibility Status from the AOBP
The AOBP General Certification examination is offered annually. If you successfully pass the examination, your information will be reported to the AOA's Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists for their review and approval. If approved, you will be assigned a certificate.

Examination Preparation
The AOBP does not endorse any board review course for use in preparing to take the certification examination in Pediatrics. Many organizations provide intensive board review courses which can be taken in preparation for the boards. The AOBP table of specifications is published on our website and can be used to determine if the content of a board review is sufficient to cover the listed topics.

GME Flow Chart
Click here to view the pathway to certification.