A call for public comment on establishing a subspecialty certification in Disaster Medicine is now open.
ABEM submitted an application to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) seeking recognition of Disaster Medicine as a subspecialty.
The increasing frequency of both natural and manmade disasters has created the need for physicians with expertise that combines caring and managing for patients outside conventional care protocols with the ability to plan for, mitigate against, operate in, and lead recovery efforts from situations where available resources are inadequate. A Disaster Medicine subspecialty certification takes one step forward to address this growing need.
The goal of this subspecialty is to formally recognize the specialized expertise of physicians in Disaster Medicine. Establishing this certification would help ensure communities have improved access to physicians with advanced knowledge and skills in all phases of disaster management.
ABEM and the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM), along with other Qualifying Boards, have collaborated on this initiative and together will offer this subspecialty certification to interested emergency physicians, as well as physicians from the following specialties: Anesthesiology, Internal Medicine, Neurological Surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic Surgery, Pathology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Preventive Medicine, Psychiatry and Neurology, Radiology, and Surgery.
A period of public comment is open now through September 15, 2025, to share your support!
