Critical Care Medicine covers the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of clinical problems representing the extreme of human disease. Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine blends the Internal Medicine diagnostic paradigm with Emergency Medicine's therapeutic imperative. IM-CCM–trained intensivists manage the melding of medical and surgical patients in the ICU.
ABEM- and American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine (AOBEM)–certified physicians attain subspecialty certification in Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine by meeting the eligibility criteria, fulfilling specific credential requirements, and passing the Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine Certification Examination.
Both ABEM and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) offer subspecialty certification in Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine. ABIM develops and administers the subspecialty certification examination, and ABEM is responsible for credentialing its candidates and notifying them of their examination results.
Eligibility
Emergency physicians seeking Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine certification must:
- Be certified by ABEM or the AOBEM
- Actively participate in the continuing certification process for their ABEM or AOBEMcertification
- Successfully complete the pre-approved training pathway as specified in the eligibility criteria
- Complete and submit the application to ABEM
- Fulfill the ABEM Policy on Medical Licensure
- Comply with the ABEM Policy on Board Eligibility for Subspecialty Certification
As a physician, if you are seeking access to the Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine application, first check your ABEM Portal to see if your eligibility has been pre-established and you already have access to apply.
If you do not currently have application access or you do not have an ABEM account, and believe you are eligible to pursue certification, you can request application access using the form below.
Request An Application
Exam Process
The Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine Certification Examination is offered once each year.
Apply
To apply, physicians must complete the current-year application form, which is available inside their ABEM Portal once their eligibility is established. Complete application submissions include:
- Completed Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine certification application
- Application and certification exam fee paid through the ABEM Portal
The application fee covers the cost of processing the application only and cannot be refunded.
A final review of an application will be completed when all information is received. Applications that are incomplete will be closed by February of the following year. Physicians with closed applications who want to take the exam must submit new applications and meet all requirements in place at the time the new application is submitted.
The application fee and exam fee are paid at the same time during application submission, and physicians are considered registered at that time.
Timing Considerations
Physicians can submit their application before their Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine training is completed. However, all steps of the application, including verification of the successful completion of training, must be completed before scores will be released.
Physicians can sit for subspecialty exams before obtaining Emergency Medicine certification. However, they are not considered certified in a subspecialty until they become certified in Emergency Medicine.
If a physician chooses to take a subspecialty exam before becoming certified in Emergency Medicine, they will be asked to sign a form acknowledging the following:
- If the results of the Oral Exam are a pass, in which case the physician is certified in Emergency Medicine and will meet the eligibility criteria for certification in the subspecialty, the application for certification in the subspecialty will be approved and scores will be released.
- If the physician does not pass the Oral Exam, they are not certified in Emergency Medicine and will not meet the eligibility criteria for certification in a subspecialty; the subspecialty examination results will be held for 12 months. If the physician does not pass the Oral Exam and become certified within that time, the subspecialty scores are nullified and the examination fees are not refunded. Scores will not be released.
Scheduling Your Exam Appointment
ABEM forwards a candidate's examination authorization to the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) on a weekly basis, who will contact candidates with information on how to schedule their exam appointment through the ABIM platform.
Exam Content Specifications
An exam tutorial, exam blueprint, and an exam-day schedule for the Internal Medicine-Critical Care Medicine Certification Examination are all available on the ABIM website .
Results
Exam results are released by the ABIM to ABEM, who then sends candidates the results of their examination via email. Results are also posted on a physician’s ABEM Portal.