Addiction Medicine Certification Resources

Application for the 2024 Addiction Medicine Board Exam

Apply to sit for the addiction medicine board exam through the American Board of Preventive Medicine’s (APBM) practice pathway without completing a formal fellowship. Many medical toxicologists have successfully obtained certification through this pathway, and it has been extended through 2025.

Applications for the 2024 exam are open now. One must maintain primary board certification and an active, unrestricted medical license to apply.

Pathways for Board Certification in Addiction Medicine

An excellent summary of certification in Addiction Medicine is located on the ASAM website here.

The Pathways to Certification Include:

APBM (American Board of Preventive Medicine)

Practice Pathway
- Available until 2025
ACGME-Accredited Fellowship Pathway
- Must complete a fellowship
- Available now
- Only an option after 2025

AOA (American Osteopathic Association)

Clinical Practice Pathway
- Available until 2025
AOA or ACGME-Accredited Fellowship Pathway
- Must complete a fellowship
- Available now
- Only an option after 2025

Applying for the Addiction Medicine Board Certification Exam Through the Practice Pathway

Important Dates:

March 13 – Application opened for 2024 exam
May 22 – Registration and payment submission opens
June 30 – Application closes
July 31 – Documentation deadline
September 13- Last day to register and pay for the 2024 Initial Certification Exam
September 27 – Last day to request withdraw and receive refund (minus
administrative fee)
October 14-November 3 – Exam administration at Pearson Vue Testing
Centers

The ACMT Addiction Toxicology Committee would like to assist any members who are interested in taking the exam.

The process can be confusing, particularly completing the application through APBM. We have gathered several documents to help make the procedure easier, including sections included in the practice portion of the application, different types of practice activities that can be considered, and other useful information.

Supporting documents include the following:

Screenshots of the application for the exam
Documents regarding practice hours
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
Example of a letter of recommendation
Additional tips when applying for the exam
An email from APBM

Many members who are boarded in medical toxicology and addiction medicine are available to assist with the application process and write a letter of recommendation. A list of those members is available here.

If you have further questions regarding the application or any requests that you get from APBM, please contact leslierdye@me.com.

Visit ABPM Board Certification webpage for more information.

Preparing for the Addiction Medicine Board Certification Exam

Review Courses
- Virtual ASAM Board Review Course: July 25-26, 2024

Textbooks
- The ASAM Principles of Addiction Medicine
  - Comprehensive textbook
- The ASAM Essentials of Addiction Medicine
  - Abbreviated textbook- generally provides enough information
  - Read all chapters or selected

ACMT resources
- ACMT Addiction Toxicology Resource page

Question Banks
- All questions at end of chapters in ASAM Essentials book
- ASAM board review course question bank (BEST)
- Addiction Medicine Foundation (ADePT) Question Bank
- CSAM 2021 High Yield Question Bank

Other suggestions
- Make list of some of the following that are mentioned over and over in several sources to memorize at the last minute if you don’t know them that are key to addiction medicine board exam. Many are in question banks:
  - - Genetics
    - P450 interaction
    - Formulas
      - Incidence, prevalence, etc.
  - Legal issues, particularly specific laws passed regarding addiction medicine
  - Metabolites
  - Suggestions from others of topics to review
    - Addiction in Pregnancy
    - Ethical principles

AOA (American Osteopathic Association)