Fall 2000

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Board Certification Update

by Ellen Perrin, M.D. FAAP, Chair, Board of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics

Last year’s big news was that the American Board of Medical Specialties had approved the creation of a formal subspecialty of Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. Shortly afterward, the American Board of Pediatrics appointed a Subboard consisting of seven developmental-behavioral pediatricians and three consultants.

In the past year the Subboard has done a considerable amount of work. Its tasks have been in three areas: (1) creation of a certifying exam; (2) definition of the criteria for eligibility to take the exam (especially during the grandparenting period); and (3) development of guidelines for training programs.

(1)    Creation of a certifying examination is a complex process. The Subboard has expanded the curriculum outline that was included in the original ABMS application, and written “Content Specification Statements” that describe the substance of our discipline. That in itself has been an impressive task, and highlights the breadth and depth of developmental-behavioral pediatrics. These Content Specification Statements will be posted on the ABP website soon.

From these Content Specification Statements the exam questions are written. So far about 350 draft questions have been written—mostly by members of the Subboard and some by other colleagues. Over the coming several months these questions will be reviewed carefully to be edited or discarded, and another group of the same size will be written. Colleagues wishing to participate in this process should contact a member of the Subboard.

(2)    Fellows entering training after January 1, 2002 must complete three years of training in an approved subspecialty training program in order to be eligible to apply to take the DBP certifying exam. This training must be three years in duration and include evidence of a “meaningful accomplishment in research,” as is true for all ABP subspecialty certification.

During the grandparenting period, eligibility to take the certifying examination is more complex. Two years of documented fellowship training or five years of practice during which at least 50% time has been devoted to behavioral-developmental pediatrics will constitute eligibility. Shorter periods of training will be adjusted with practice experience to constitute eligibility during this period. The practice experience must have been accrued prior to 12/31/06. Individuals’ unique professional histories will be reviewed by the Credentials Subcommittee of the Subboard.

(3)    It is the Residency Review Committee that credentials programs; the ABP Subboard has only an advisory role. The Subboard has been working with the RRC to outline standards for the components and structure of training programs. These guidelines will be discussed by the RRC during the coming year.

Subcertification in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities was approved by the ABMS at the same time as was subcertification in Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics. Certification in ND is co-sponsored by the ABP and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and the examination process is being administered by the ABPN. The first ND examination is scheduled for April, 2001. Subsequent examinations will be administered in 2002, 2004, and 2005. The outline for the ND exam is posted on the ABP website.

The first DBP examination will be administered on November 18, 2002 and every two years thereafter. During the grandparenting period, a candidate could conceivably be eligible to take both the ND and the DBP examination. Such dual eligibility would exist if acceptable fellowship training and practice experience could be documented for each subspecialty. The same training and practice experience cannot be counted towards eligibility in more than one of the examinations.

For further information please contact the American Board of Pediatrics (919-929-0461), or wwt@abpeds.org.

·        Members of the DBP Subboard are: Forrest Bennett, Daniel Coury, Heidi Feldman, Ellen Perrin (chair), David Schonfeld, Paul Wang, and Mark Wolraich.

·        Consultants to the Subboard are: Dennis Drotar (pediatric psychology), Marvin Fishman (child neurology), and Robert Harmon (child & adolescent psychiatry).

Dr. Perrin is the Chair of the DBP Board and a Section member.

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