Certification Exam
Eligibility
To be eligible for certification in Occupational/Environmental Medicine, candidates must meet the criteria below:
- Be a graduate of a COCA-accredited college of osteopathic medicine or an LCME-accredited medical school in the U.S. or Canada.
- Physicians who graduated from a medical school outside of the U.S. or Canada are also eligible if they hold a valid certificate, without expired examination dates, from the ECFMG.
- Satisfactorily completed two-years of an AGCME residency program, one year of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and one transitional year of residency.
- Master of Public Health (or equivalent) post-graduate degree with course content covering biostatistics, epidemiology, health services management and environmental health.
- Hold an unrestricted medical license to practice in a U.S. state or territory.
- Adhere to the AOA Code of Ethics.
Exam Fees
A fee of $1,600 is required for the Initial Written and the Oral Components of the examination.
- Written examination fee: $800
- Oral examination fee: $800
Exam Content Outline
The remotely proctored certification exam consists of two parts: a written examination and an oral examination.
Written Examination (Remotely Proctored)
The Written Examination will take approximately 280 minutes.
Security check-in process
Section 1: 50 items (60 minutes)
Break (10 minutes)
Section 2: 50 items (60 minutes)
Break (20 minutes)
Section 1: 50 items (60 minutes)
Break (10 minutes)
Section 2: 50 items (60 minutes)
End/survey
Oral Examination (Remotely Proctored)
Candidates will be required to answer and explain areas of Administration, Environmental and Clinical Medicine, and Clinical topics (33% each). The oral exam lasts approximately 45 minutes.
| Primary Certification | |
|---|---|
| CATEGORY | CATEGORY PERCENT |
| Treatment | 20% |
| Rules and regulations | 15% |
| Epi/Biostat | 5% |
| Health management/impairment | 3% |
| Toxicology | 20% |
| Hearing | 5% |
| Dermatology | 5% |
| Respiratory/industrial hygiene | 20% |
| Reproductive | 2% |
| Decompressions | 1% |
| Vibrations | 1% |
| Radiation | 3% |
Exam Scoring
Scoring Criteria
AOA reports candidates’ certification results using standardized scaled scores. Scaled scores are more valid and reliable compared to raw scores and make scores comparable across different forms of the exam. The AOA reports scores on a 200 to 800-point scale with a scaled score of 500 or higher required to pass.
- A scaled score of 500 represents the minimum level of knowledge and skill necessary to pass the exam as established by AOA Certifying Boards.
- The highest possible scaled score is 800.
- The lowest possible scaled score is 200.
- Overall scores are based on the total number of items answered correctly, regardless of content area.
Results by Content Area
- When possible, a breakdown of exam scores by content area is provided to help you identify your areas of strength and areas that may need more development.
- The number of items for each content area indicates the relative amount of test questions on the exam for that content area.
- Content area scores are not weighted to calculate your overall score; each content area is scored separately after the overall analysis is complete.
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Exam Failure
If a candidate fails any part of the exam, they may apply to re-take the exam components. Board-eligible candidate may sit for re-examination three times in a six-year period. This Board may require evidence of further training prior to re-examination.