Residents who meet the following criteria are eligible for the cognitive (written) examination:
- You are a DO/MD in a Family Medicine residency.
- You must be in your final year of residency at the time of the examination.
Residents who meet the following criteria are eligible for the OMT examination:
- You are a DO in a Family Medicine residency.
- You are an MD in an osteopathically recognized Family Medicine residency.
- You must be in your final year of residency at the time of the examination.
The following criteria must also be met:
- You have completed two osteopathic in-service exams (ISE or ISE+) produced and administered by ACOFP.
- Complete two osteopathic in-service exams (ISE or ISE+) produced and administered by ACOFP, during residency,
- Register for the EEIC program.
- Take and pass the AOBFP Early Entry Initial Certification exam during your last year of residency.
- Successfully complete a three-year AOA/ACGME approved residency in Family Medicine.
No, you must complete two osteopathic in-service exams (ISE or ISE+) produced and administered by ACOFP, during residency. If a residency does not support the ISE or ISE+, you may register for the exams through the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians.
The exam is offered during spring of the final year of residency. For 2023, the testing window is Jan. 23 through Jan. 27, 2023.
Although certification will not be officially conferred until successful completion of the final year of residency, you will be able to tell prospective employers you have passed the AOBFP certification exam.
No. The ISE and ISE+, produced and administered by ACOFP, are formative assessments and do not have pass-fail scoring systems. The EEIC exam is designed to measure the competency and knowledge, skills abilities and judgments of a qualified osteopathically-certified family practice physician.
To maintain ACGME accreditation, residents across all programs must take a formative assessment (in-service exam) all three years of residency. To qualify and participate in EEIC, only two attempts at the ISE or ISE+ (produced and administered by ACOFP) need to be completed.
No. The only requirement is to have two independent scores attained during different years of your residency.
The EEIC exam will cover the same content domains as the standard initial certification exam. The content domains are determined by an analysis of practice conducted regularly by surveying osteopathic family physicians about their practice.
Both exams are designed to measure the competency and knowledge, skills, abilities and judgments of qualified osteopathic family physicians.
The EEIC exam will be shorter in length than the standard initial certification exam.
All AOA certification examinations are psychometrically validated and developed by best practice models.
The chart below indicates timing for the first class of residents to be eligible for Early Entry Initial Certification.
| Eligibility Timeline | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class | PGY 1 | PGY 2 | PGY 3 | Early Entry |
| 2023 | In-service exams: October 2020 |
In-service exams: October 2021 |
In-service exams: October 2022 |
Eligible for EEIC: Jan 2023 |
| 2024 | In-service exams: October 2021 |
In-service exams: October 2022 |
In-service exams: October 2023 |
Eligible for EEIC: Jan 2024 |
| 2025 | In-service exams: October 2022 |
In-service exams: October 2023 |
In-service exams: October 2024 |
Eligible for EEIC: Jan 2025 |
Residents have the following options for certification:
- Family Medicine; or
- Family Medicine & Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT)
If a resident chooses the OMT option, the OMT Performance Exam would only be required at initial certification.
Once certified, diplomates may choose to take the OMT Performance exam at any time to add the designation to their certification
The OMT designation reflects your proficiency in Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment and your commitment to maintaining the distinctiveness of osteopathic medicine.
It allows you to distinguish yourself as a skilled practitioner by achieving a level of mastery in OMT as evaluated by experts in the field.
Opportunities for ongoing skill development in and applications of OMT are offered and available throughout Osteopathic Continuous Certification (OCC).
Yes, an AOA-certified family medicine diplomate in good standing who meets all the requirements for OCC may apply to take the OMT Performance Exam at any point throughout their professional career.
The EEIC written examination costs $400 (the standard initial certification exam costs $500).
The OMT Performance Exam costs $500.
The EEIC Cognitive exam is scored using the Rasch model (an Item Response Theory model).