Neurocritical Care Subspecialty Certificate to be Available for Surgical Critical Care Diplomates
Feb. 11, 2020
The American Board of Surgery (ABS), in conjunction with the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, the American Board of Anesthesiology, the American Board of Emergency Medicine and the American Board of Neurological Surgery, is pleased to offer an additional certification option to surgical critical care diplomates who are primarily engaged in the practice of neurocritical care.
The first neurocritical care exam will be administered in 2021. Applicants must be currently certified by the ABS in surgical critical care, in addition to completing the required training. Details regarding the application process will be available later this year.
To be eligible for this exam, applicants must:
- Be currently certified by the ABS in surgical critical care and in compliance with the ABS Continuous Certification Program.
- Attest to your current privileges and clinical activity in neurocritical care.
- Have a currently registered full and unrestricted license to practice medicine in the U.S. or Canada.
- Be actively and primarily engaged in the practice of neurocritical care.
- Be capable of performing independently the entire scope of the neurocritical care practice.
See Subspecialty Certification in Neurocritical Care for additional information and full details about each requirement.
Legacy/Practice Pathway
During a six-year "Legacy" or practice pathway period, eligible SCC diplomates may qualify to take the exam if they are certified in neurocritical care by the UCNS or CAST, have completed a fellowship in neurocritical care, or have documented a certain amount of post-training clinical practice specifically related to neurocritical care.
After this six-year period is over, all candidates who register for the neurocritical care exam must meet the exam registration requirements and must have completed one of two approved training pathways.
Exam Opportunities and Maintaining Certification
Once your application is approved, you will be granted a maximum of 5 opportunities within a 5-year period to pass the exam. If you decide not to take the exam in a given year, it is a lost opportunity as the five-year limit is absolute.
If successful on the exam, you will be deemed certified in neurocritical care and receive your official certificate within 6 months from the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA). You must participate in the ABA MOCA 2.0® program to maintain your certificate.
Additional information about this certification and the accompanying exam deadlines will be available in the coming months.
