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Appendix 3: AOA Specialty Board Certification

  • Cheryl Gross and Elaine C. Bell
Published/Copyright: April 1, 2014
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Journal of Osteopathic Medicine
From the journal Journal of Osteopathic Medicine Volume 114 Issue 4

The year 2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the first award of osteopathic specialty certification. 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, the official certifying body of the American Osteopathic Association, has issued 39,253 certifications including primary specialties, subspecialties, and added qualifications. As of December 31, 2013, a total of 27,116 osteopathic physicians were currently certified by the American Osteopathic Association and held a combined total of 30,267 active certificates, representing a 5.7% increase over the number of certificates held in 2012. In 2013, 1534 certificates were awarded in primary specialty and subspecialty areas. Additionally, 146 certificates of added qualifications were granted and 1531 recertifications were issued. A complete list of the certifications and recertifications processed in 2013 and the total number of active certifications by specialty is found in the Table.

Table.

Certification Statistics, 2013a

American Osteopathic Association Board of… Certification Type Description New Certification Recertification Total
Anesthesiology Primary Anesthesiology 29 (2) 16 (1) 629 (2)
CAQ Pain management 3 (<1) 0 67 (<1)
CAQ Critical care 0 0 5 (<1)
Dermatology Primary Dermatology 6 (<1) 0 466 (2)
CAQ Dermatopathology 0 0 8 (<1)
CAQ Mohs micrographic surgery 0 0 24 (<1)
Emergency Medicine CAQ Emergency medical services 0 0 9 (<1)
Primary Emergency medicine 188 (11) 64 (4) 2486 (8)
CAQ Hospice and palliative medicine 0 0 3 (<1)
CAQ Medical toxicology 0 0 10 (<1)
CAQ Sports medicine 1 (<1) 0 7 (<1)
CAQ Undersea and hyperbaric medicine 0 0 7 (<1)
Family Physicians CAQ Addiction medicine 0 0 4 (<1)
CAQ Adolescent and young adult medicineb NA NA 9 (<1)
Primary Family medicine/OMTc 604 (36) 806 (53) 11,979 (40)
CAQ Geriatric medicine 8 (<1) 15 (1) 299 (1)
CAQ Hospice and palliative medicine 0 0 117 (<1)
CAQ Pain medicine 11 (1) 0 11 (<1)
CAQ Sleep medicine 2 (<1) 0 7 (<1)
CAQ Sports medicine 15 (1) 8 (1) 197 (1)
CAQ Undersea and hyperbaric medicine 7 (<1) 0 19 (<1)
Internal Medicine CSQ Allergy and immunology 0 0 9 (<1)
CAQ Cardiac electrophysiology 0 1 (<1) 24 (<1)
CSQ Cardiology 21 (1) 29 (2) 468 (2)
CAQ Critical care medicine 15 (1) 10 (1) 148 (<1)
CSQ Endocrinology 3 (<1) 2 (<1) 39 (<1)
CSQ Gastroenterology 10 (1) 16 (1) 209 (1)
CAQ Geriatrics 0 5 (<1) 61 (<1)
CSQ Hematology 2 (<1) 3 (<1) 46 (<1)
CAQ Hospice and palliative medicine 0 0 46 (<1)
CSQ Infectious diseases 4 (<1) 7 (<1) 69 (<1)
Primary Internal medicine 304 (18) 267 (17) 3654 (12)
CAQ Interventional cardiology 24 (1) 12 (1) 111 (<1)
CSQ Nephrology 2 (<1) 11 (<1) 130 (<1)
CSQ Oncology 6 (<1) 13 (1) 98 (<1)
CAQ Pain medicine 3 (<1) 0 3 (<1)
CSQ Pulmonary diseases 8 (<1) 19 (1) 203 (1)
CSQ Rheumatology 4 (<1) 10 (1) 66 (<1)
CAQ Sleep medicine 0 0 50 (<1)
CAQ Sports medicine 0 0 6 (<1)
CAQ Undersea and hyperbaric medicine 0 0 1 (<1)
Neurology and Psychiatry CAQ Addiction medicine 0 1 (<1) 3 (<1)
CSQ Child neurology 0 1 (<1) 3 (<1)
CSQ Child psychiatry 0 2 (<1) 41 (<1)
CAQ Geriatric psychiatry 1 (<1) 0 10 (<1)
CAQ Hospice and palliative medicine 0 0 2 (<1)
Primary Neurology 16 (1) 4 (<1) 233 (1)
CAQ Neurophysiology 1 (<1) 0 24 (<1)
CAQ Pain medicine 1 (<1) 0 1 (<1)
Primary Psychiatry 10 (1) 10 (1) 286 (1)
CAQ Sleep medicine 0 0 15 (<1)
NMM Primary NMM/OMM 26 (2) 33 (2) 532 (2)
Primary Special proficiency in OMMb NA NA 125 (<1)
CAQ Pain medicine 7 (<1) 0 7 (<1)
CAQ Sports medicine 1 (<1) 0 6 (<1)
Nuclear Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology Primary Nuclear medicine 0 0 26 (<1)
CSQ Female pelvic medicine reconstructive surgery 2 (<1) 0 4 (<1)
CSQ Gynecologic oncology 3 (<1) 1 (<1) 11 (<1)
CSQ Maternal and fetal medicine 2 (<1) 1 (<1) 31 (<1)
Primary Obstetrics and gynecologic surgeryb NA NA 55 (<1)
Primary Obstetrics and gynecology 78 (5) 43 (3) 1151 (4)
CSQ Reproductive endocrinology 1 (<1) 0 12 (<1)
Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Primary Facial plastic surgery 0 0 5 (<1)
Primary Ophthalmology 14 (1) 0 355 (1)
Primary Otolaryngology and facial plastic surgery 23 (1) 3 (<1) 404 (1)
CAQ Otolaryngic-sleep medicine 0 0 6 (<1)
CAQ Otolaryngic allergy 1 (<1) 0 21 (<1)
Primary Otolaryngology 0 0 11 (<1)
Primary Otorhinolaryngologyb NA NA 30 (<1)
Orthopedic Surgery CAQ Hand surgery 6 (<1) 0 48 (<1)
Primary Orthopedic surgery 66 (4) 48 (3) 1188 (4)
CAQ Undersea and hyperbaric medicine 0 0 1 (<1)
Pathology Primary Anatomic pathology 0 0 23 (<1)
Primary Anatomic pathology and laboratory medicine 0 0 14 (<1)
CAQ Dermatopathology 0 0 2 (<1)
CSQ Forensic pathology 0 0 4 (<1)
Primary Laboratory medicine 0 0 16 (<1)
Pediatrics CSQ Adolescent medicine 0 0 1 (<1)
CSQ Adult and pediatric allergy and immunology 0 1 (<1) 1 (<1)
CSQ Neonatology 2 (<1) 3 (<1) 35 (<1)
CSQ Pediatric allergy and immunology 0 0 7 (<1)
CSQ Pediatric endocrinology 0 0 2 (<1)
CSQ Pediatric pulmonologyb NA 1 (<1) 2 (<1)
Primary Pediatrics 45 (3) 33 (2) 546 (2)
CAQ Sports medicine 0 0 1 (<1)
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation CAQ Hospice and palliative medicine 0 0 1 (<1)
CAQ Pain medicine 21 (1) 0 21 (<1)
Primary Physical medicine and rehabilitation 16 (1) 0 247 (1)
CAQ Sports medicine 1 (<1) 0 4 (<1)
Preventive Medicine Primary Preventive medicine-aerospace medicine 0 1 (<1) 39 (<1)
CAQ Occupational medicine 4 (<1) 2 (<1) 52 (<1)
Primary Preventive medicine-occupational medicineb NA NA 8 (<1)
Primary Preventive medicine-public health 2 (<1) 38 (<1)
Primary Preventive-occupational-environmental medicine 0 2 (<1) 81 (<1)
CAQ Sports medicine 0 0 1 (<1)
CAQ Undersea hyperbaric medicine 2 (<1) 1 (<1) 7 (<1)
Proctology Primary Proctology 0 4 (<1) 23 (<1)
Radiology CAQ Angiography and interventional radiologyb NA NA 18 (<1)
CAQ Body imagingb NA NA 9 (<1)
Primary Diagnostic radiology 29 (2) 9 (1) 645 (2)
Primary Diagnostic roentgenologyb NA NA 2 (<1)
CAQ Diagnostic ultrasound 0 0 1 (<1)
CAQ Neuroradiologyb 6 (<1) 0 62 (<1)
CAQ Nuclear radiology 0 0 5 (<1)
CAQ Pediatric radiology 2 (<1) 0 23 (<1)
Primary Radiation oncology 0 0 119 (<1)
CSQ Radiation therapyb NA NA 1 (<1)
Primary Radiologyb NA NA 97 (<1)
CAQ Vascular and interventional radiology 2 (<1) 0 16 (<1)
Surgery Primary Cardiothoracic surgery 0 1 (<1) 11 (<1)
CAQ Critical care surgery 1 (<1) 0 61 (<1)
Primary General vascular surgery 1 (<1) 2 (<1) 122 (<1)
CAQ Hospice and palliative medicine 0 0 1 (<1)
Primary Neurologic surgery 1 (<1) 1 (<1) 101 (<1)
Primary Plastic and reconstructive surgery 0 0 64 (<1)
Primary Surgery (general) 4 (<1) 9 (1) 1020 (3)
Primary Thoracic cardiovascular surgeryb NA NA 53 (<1)
Primary Thoracic surgeryb NA NA 5 (<1)
CAQ Undersea and hyperbaric medicine 0 0 0
Primary Urologic surgery 2 (<1) 0 204 (1)
Total 1680 1531 30,267
[a] [b] [c] [*]

Since 2009, the number of active board certifications held has risen steadily, as noted in the Figure. This number is expected to continue to rise in the future.

Figure. Active certifications held, 2009 through 2013. Certifications increased from 25,327 in 2009 to 30,267 in 2013.
Figure.

Active certifications held, 2009 through 2013. Certifications increased from 25,327 in 2009 to 30,267 in 2013.

From the Department of Education at the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) in Chicago, Illinois
Address correspondence to Cheryl Gross MA, CAE, AOA Department of Education, 142 E Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60611-2864. E-mail:

  1. Financial Disclosures: None reported.

Received: 2013-12-18
Revised: 2014-02-12
Accepted: 2014-02-25
Published Online: 2014-04-01
Published in Print: 2014-04-01

© 2014 The American Osteopathic Association

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Editorial
  2. Reevaluating Osteopathic Medical Education for the 21st Century and Beyond
  3. Special Report
  4. A Single Graduate Medical Education Accreditation System: Ensuring Quality Training for Physicians and Improved Health Care for the Public
  5. Letters
  6. Unified Graduate Medical Education Accreditation: A Better Plow
  7. Moving From EBM to EBOM: An Osteopathic Perspective on Evidence-Based Medicine
  8. Correction
  9. Correction
  10. Medical Education
  11. Preliminary Outcomes of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine's 3-Year Primary Care Scholar Pathway in Osteopathic Predoctoral Education
  12. Student- and Faculty-Reported Importance of Science Prerequisites for Osteopathic Medical School: A Survey-Based Study
  13. Consistency of Interrater Scoring of Student Performances of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment on COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE
  14. Relationship Between COMLEX-USA Scores and Performance on the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine Part I Certifying Examination
  15. Concurrent Validity of the Osteopathic General Surgery In-Service Examination
  16. Keyboard Data Entry Use Among Osteopathic Medical Students and Residents
  17. Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine: Substantive Changes—An Update
  18. Citation and Correction of Deficiencies in Osteopathic Graduate Medical Education Programs: Opportunities for Improvement
  19. AOA Continuing Medical Education
  20. Appendix
  21. Appendix 1: Osteopathic Graduate Medical Education 2014
  22. Appendix 2: Dual and Parallel Postdoctoral Training Programs
  23. Appendix 3: AOA Specialty Board Certification
  24. Appendix 4: Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
  25. Clinical Images
  26. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy
  27. Postpartum Internal Hernia
https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2014.059
Creative Commons
BY-NC-ND 4.0

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Editorial
  2. Reevaluating Osteopathic Medical Education for the 21st Century and Beyond
  3. Special Report
  4. A Single Graduate Medical Education Accreditation System: Ensuring Quality Training for Physicians and Improved Health Care for the Public
  5. Letters
  6. Unified Graduate Medical Education Accreditation: A Better Plow
  7. Moving From EBM to EBOM: An Osteopathic Perspective on Evidence-Based Medicine
  8. Correction
  9. Correction
  10. Medical Education
  11. Preliminary Outcomes of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine's 3-Year Primary Care Scholar Pathway in Osteopathic Predoctoral Education
  12. Student- and Faculty-Reported Importance of Science Prerequisites for Osteopathic Medical School: A Survey-Based Study
  13. Consistency of Interrater Scoring of Student Performances of Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment on COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE
  14. Relationship Between COMLEX-USA Scores and Performance on the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine Part I Certifying Examination
  15. Concurrent Validity of the Osteopathic General Surgery In-Service Examination
  16. Keyboard Data Entry Use Among Osteopathic Medical Students and Residents
  17. Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine: Substantive Changes—An Update
  18. Citation and Correction of Deficiencies in Osteopathic Graduate Medical Education Programs: Opportunities for Improvement
  19. AOA Continuing Medical Education
  20. Appendix
  21. Appendix 1: Osteopathic Graduate Medical Education 2014
  22. Appendix 2: Dual and Parallel Postdoctoral Training Programs
  23. Appendix 3: AOA Specialty Board Certification
  24. Appendix 4: Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
  25. Clinical Images
  26. Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy
  27. Postpartum Internal Hernia
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