get certified in
Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine
Certification Exam
Dates & Fees | |
| Exam Dates | Next exam in 2026 (Offered in even-numbered years) |
| Application Window | TBD |
| Application Fee* | $470 |
| Exam Fee* | $1,745 |
What is UHM?
Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine involves the prevention of injury and illness from exposure to environments with increased ambient pressure (such as in diving or hyperbaric chamber exposure), and the therapeutic use of high-environmental pressure and the delivery of oxygen under high pressure to treat disease. The scope of the subspecialty emphasizes the occupational, environmental, safety, and clinical aspects of diving, hyperbaric chamber operations, compressed air work, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
How This Subspecialty Works
Person or Entity | Responsibility |
| Physician Candidate |
|
| American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) |
|
| American Board of Preventative Medicine (ABPM) | Develops and administers the UHM Certification Exam |
Eligibility Criteria
Emergency physicians seeking to take the certification examination in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine must:
- Be certified by ABEM or the AOBEM
- Successfully complete an ACGME-accredited, Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine fellowship of at least one year as specified in the eligibility criteria
- Complete and submit the application to ABEM
- Actively participate in ABEM’s continuing certification process or the AOBEM Osteopathic Continuous Certification Program
- Fulfill the ABEM Policy on Medical Licensure
- Comply with the ABEM Policy on Board Eligibility for Subspecialty Certification
Exam Content
A reference guide and exam content outline are available on the ABPM website.
Certification Process
Apply
ABEM- and AOBEM-certified physicians complete and submit the current year’s application, available from ABEM.
Complete applications include:
- Completed UHM certification application form
- Application fee in U.S. funds
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 in February of the following year. Physicians with closed applications must submit new applications if they wish to apply. They must meet all requirements in place at the time the new application is submitted.
ABEM notifies physicians via email regarding whether their application has been approved.
Scheduling
ABEM forwards a candidate’s examination authorization to the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) on a weekly basis, who will contact candidates with information on how to schedule their exam appointment through the ABPM platform.
Results & Scoring
Exam results are released by the ABPM to ABEM, who then sends candidates the results of their examination via email. Results are also posted on a physician’s ABEM Portal.
