Board Eligible -- The Grace Periods are Over

For years, the American Board of Medical Specialties eschewed the use of the phrase "board eligible" as meaningless, vague, and potentially misleading to the consumer.  Effective January 1, 2012, the ABMS changed the policy to allow a physician to use "board eligible" for a period up to seven years to complete board certification.  After seven years, the physician can no longer use "board eligible" as part of their professional title.  ABMS states:

A candidate's eligibility for board certification (board eligible period) expires on a date determined by the ABMS Member Board. Individual Member Board requirements must be met, including time in practice required (if any) for admissibility to the qualifying or certifying examination.

When a candidate’s board eligibility lapses, and certification is not achieved, the physician must cease and desist from making any representations of board eligibility.

The Member Boards also determine whether a candidate can re-establish board eligibility one additional time. If granted, the candidate must complete all requirements set by the particular ABMS Member Board. The new board eligibility period typically is of the same duration as the original time period set by each Member Board.

NOTE: While some Member Boards may not recognize the term “board eligible,” their policies appropriately limit the time that may elapse before a physician becomes board certified. See the ABMS Board Eligibility Policies FAQs[PDF]

Most of the periods have expired. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology states:

The ABPN does not recognize or use the term “Board Eligible” and does not issue statements concerning “Board Eligibility.” The Board informs an applicant of admissibility to examination only when the applicant has an active, approved application on file in the Board office.

• Effective January 1, 2012, ABPN will require a physician to become Board certified within seven years following successful completion of ACGME-accredited or ABPN-approved residency training in their primary specialty or ACGME-accredited subspecialty.
• Graduates can take the ABPN Certification Examination as many times as allowed during the seven-year period.
• Individuals who have completed an accredited residency program prior to January 1, 2012 will have until January 1, 2019 to become board certified.
• Individuals who do not become certified during the seven-year period (or before January 1, 2019 for those who completed residency training before January 1, 2012) will be required to (1) repeat the required clinical skills evaluations; and (2) complete one stage of MOC (90 CME credits, 24 self-assessment CME credits, and one PIP Unit that includes a clinical module or feedback module) in order to be credentialed to take the ABPN Certification Examination.

The American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery states:

Candidates who pass Part I then become board eligible for five years. Time spent in fellowships is not counted as part of the five year time limit. Candidates who do not take and pass Part II within those five years are no longer board eligible, and must reapply for Part I.

 The American Board of Internal Medicine states:

As of July 2012, the American Board of Internal Medicine considers all internal medicine and subspecialist physicians who have met the standards for Board Certification in general internal medicine or any of its subspecialties to be “Board Eligible” in the relevant specialty for a period of seven years. The seven-year period of Board Eligibility shall begin upon the candidate's successful completion of the initial certification requirements in their field or July 1, 2012, whichever is later. During the period of Board Eligibility, the candidate may apply for the certifying examination in the relevant specialty. If the candidate does not become Board Certified during the seven-year period of Board Eligibility, the candidate will no longer be deemed “Board Eligible” and may no longer represent himself or herself as “Board Eligible.”

A candidate who is no longer Board Eligible may nevertheless apply for a certifying examination, but only if the candidate has: (i) completed a year of retraining in the relevant specialty after the expiry of the candidate's period of Board Eligibility, but no more than seven years before the application; and (ii) met all other requirements for Board Certification in effect at that time. Retraining will require the successful completion of one year of additional residency/fellowship training in an ACGME-accredited U.S. training program or an RCPSC-accredited Canadian training program and an attestation from the program that the candidate has demonstrated the requisite competency for unsupervised practice. The Board Eligibility policy may be subject to other ABIM policies, including the Re-examination policy.

The 2012 ABMS gave physicians holding themselves out in perpetuity as "board eligible" a reprieve.  The reprieves have expired with a couple of narrow specialty exceptions.  For examinations conducted after January 1, 2019, the time to challenge the credentials of the examining physician have resurrected.  Use the criteria from the appropriate board and ask the questions.  This is a credibility issue.  A physician that willingly misrepresents board status in contravention of the ABMS and the individual board cannot be trusted on substantive issues.  Misleading conduct is already established.