American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology ABPN Subspecialties, Certification, and Professional Practice 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) requires initial certification candidates to complete how many years of accredited residency training in psychiatry?
- 2 years
- 3 years
- 4 years (Correct answer)
- 5 years
Correct answer: 4 years
ABPN requires completion of a 4-year ACGME-accredited psychiatry residency program before candidates are eligible to sit for the initial certification examination.
Question 2: Which of the following is a current ABPN-recognized subspecialty requiring additional fellowship training and certification?
- Addiction medicine
- Child and adolescent psychiatry (Correct answer)
- Integrative psychiatry
- Neuropsychiatry
Correct answer: Child and adolescent psychiatry
Child and adolescent psychiatry is an ABPN-recognized subspecialty requiring a 2-year fellowship after residency and a separate ABPN subspecialty certification examination.
Question 3: ABPN Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requires diplomates to demonstrate which of the following on an ongoing basis?
- Annual board re-examination
- Continuous medical education, quality improvement, and assessment activities (Correct answer)
- Monthly peer review of patient cases
- Annual state licensing examination
Correct answer: Continuous medical education, quality improvement, and assessment activities
ABPN MOC requires diplomates to engage in lifelong learning through CME, practice performance improvement, and periodic assessment to maintain certification.
Question 4: Which accreditation body oversees residency and fellowship training programs in psychiatry in the United States?
- American Psychiatric Association (APA)
- Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) (Correct answer)
- American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS)
- National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
Correct answer: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
The ACGME sets program requirements, accredits residency and fellowship training programs, and oversees graduate medical education quality in all US specialties including psychiatry.
Question 5: The ABPN Continuing Certification (CC) program replaced which older requirement?
- Annual in-training examination (ITE)
- Time-limited certification with 10-year written re-examination (Correct answer)
- Oral board examination for clinical competency
- Mandatory peer supervision hours
Correct answer: Time-limited certification with 10-year written re-examination
ABPN's Continuing Certification program replaced the high-stakes 10-year written recertification examination with a continuous, ongoing assessment model.
Question 6: Geriatric psychiatry as an ABPN subspecialty focuses primarily on which patient population?
- Patients over age 65 with psychiatric and cognitive disorders (Correct answer)
- Patients of any age with age-related cognitive decline
- Patients over 50 with treatment-resistant depression
- Nursing home residents regardless of age
Correct answer: Patients over age 65 with psychiatric and cognitive disorders
Geriatric psychiatry subspecialists are trained to manage the psychiatric, cognitive, and behavioral disorders particularly affecting adults 65 and older.
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology ABPN Subspecialties, Certification, and Professional Practice 1
The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) requires initial certification candidates to complete how many years of accredited residency training in psychiatry?