The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, Inc.(ABPN), is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1934.The mission of the ABPN is to serve the public interestby promoting excellence in the practice of psychiatryand neurology through lifelong certification includingcompetency testing processes.

The Board consists of 16 members. There are 8 neu-rologists, 4 of whom are nominated by the AmericanAcademy of Neurology and 4 of whom are nominatedby the American Neurological Association, and 8 psy-chiatrists, 5 of whom are nominated by the AmericanPsychiatric Association and 3 of whom are nominatedby the American Medical Association.

The 1999 neurology directors were Drs. Harold P.Adams, Jr. (Iowa City, IA), José Biller (Indianapolis, IN),Rosalie A. Burns (Philadelphia, PA), Darryl C. De Vivo(New York, NY), H. Royden Jones, Jr. (Burlington, MA),Edgar J. Kenton III (Wynnewood, PA), Alan K. Percy(Birmingham, AL), and Nicholas A. Vick (Evanston, IL).

The 1999 psychiatry directors were Drs. Glenn C. Davis(Detroit, MI), Michael H. Ebert (Nashville, TN), Larry R.Faulkner (Columbia, SC), Sheldon I. Miller (Chicago, IL),Pedro Ruiz (Houston, TX), John E. Schowalter (NewHaven, CT), James H. Scully, Jr. (Columbia, SC), andElizabeth B. Weller (Philadelphia, PA).

The 1999 Executive Committee was composed of Drs.Darryl C. De Vivo, President; Sheldon I. Miller, Vice-President; John E. Schowalter, Secretary; Rosalie A. Burns,Treasurer; and José Biller, Member-at-Large.

Dr. Stephen C. Scheiber is the Executive Vice-President of the ABPN.

STRATEGIC PLANNING INITIATIVE

In 1999, the ABPN undertook a strategic planningprocess to address concerns and challenges presented by achanging health care environment. Integrally involvedthroughout, the Board of Directors charged a StrategicPlanning Committee with developing a plan that wouldbalance the need for flexibility to respond to change withthe necessity for structure to preserve the organization’sfocus. The committee was co-chaired by Drs. Darryl C.De Vivo, President, and Sheldon I. Miller, Vice-President.

The committee engaged in an extensive process of datagathering. Results from wide-ranging literature searchesand data analysis from focus groups of examiners, res-idents, and patients were included, along with feedback

from meetings with the nominating societies, other pro-fessional organizations, and the residency review commit-tees for psychiatry and neurology. Psychiatrists andneurologists in the field provided input as well.

Throughout the planning process, the ABPN exam-ined its mission, values, and purpose to strategically posi-tion the organization for the future. The result was aplanning document entitled “ABPN Vision 20/10.” Anophthalmological metaphor, it represents the ability to seewith better-than-perfect “20/20” vision. With this doc-ument, the Board has set in motion a continuous plan-ning process which embodies a commitment to strive forexcellence in all that it does as an organization, advocatingfor the highest standards for certifying psychiatrists andneurologists, and in the development and administrationof its examinations.

CREDENTIALS

Canadian Training

At its July 1999 policy meeting, the Board met with agroup of psychiatrists and neurologists from both theU.S. and Canada as well as with representatives from theRoyal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada(RCPSC) and the Accreditation Council for GraduateMedical Education. A follow-up meeting was held withrepresentatives of the RCPSC in November 1999 to con-tinue the discussion of creating a mechanism for reciproc-ity between the ABPN and RCPSC to allow individualstrained, certified, and licensed in one country to be certi-fied in the other country.

Information Booklets for Residents

Two booklets, “Frequently Asked Questions aboutCertification in Neurology” and “Frequently AskedQuestions about Certification in Psychiatry,” weremailed to training program directors for distribution totheir residents. The booklets describe the ABPN’s train-ing requirements, examinations, and other policies andprocedures.

SUBSPECIALTIES

Addiction Psychiatry

No examination was administered in 1999. The 2000examination is the last one for which a candidate canqualify based on successful completion of 1 year of res-

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idency training in addiction psychiatry that is notACGME-approved.

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

New candidates for the November 1999 certificationexamination in child and adolescent psychiatry, whichwas held in Milwaukee WI, had 2 oral examinationhours (preschool/grade school and adolescence). Mate-rial previously covered in the consultation oral examina-tion section was covered in the written examination and,when appropriate, in the 2 remaining oral examinationhours. The test results appear in Table 1. Future certifi-cation examination dates appear in Table 2.

Clinical Neurophysiology

An examination was administered in 1999, and theresults appear in Table 1. Applicants are required to suc-cessfully complete 1 year of ACGME-approved residencytraining in clinical neurophysiology.

Forensic Psychiatry

An examination was administered in 1999, and theresults appear in Table 1. The April 2001 examination(application deadline September 1, 2000) will be the lastexamination for which graduates of residency trainingprograms in forensic psychiatry not accredited by theACGME may qualify.

Neurodevelopmental Disabilities

In March 1999, the American Board of MedicalSpecialties (ABMS) approved the proposal for subspe-cialization in neurodevelopmental disabilities as a jointcertification of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)

and the ABPN. Training consists of (1) 24 months of gen-eral pediatrics and (2) 48 months of an integrated programof education, training, and experience in the managementof neurological and neurodevelopmental disorders com-pleted at a single training site. Physicians completing the72 months of training may apply for examinations in pedi-atrics, neurology with special qualification in child neurol-ogy, and neurodevelopmental disabilities.

During the “grandfathering period” (prior to 2006),the temporary criteria are (1) satisfactory completion of24 months of formal training in neurodevelopmental dis-abilities acceptable for subspecialization in neurodevel-opmental disabilities; or (2) satisfactory completion of 12months of formal training in neurodevelopmental disabil-ities and 50% of practice time devoted to neurodevel-opmental disabilities for the previous 21⁄2 years; or (3) 50%of practice time devoted to neurodevelopmental disabil-ities for the previous 5 years.

Dr. Alan Percy, an ABPN director, child neurologist,and pediatrician, is serving as chair of the test committee,and Dr. Frederick Palmer, a pediatrician, is vice-chair.The first examination will be administered on April 3,2001 (application deadline September 1, 2000).

Pain Management

Diplomates of the ABPN and of other ABMS boards,with permission from their respective boards, can nowapply for subspecialty certification in pain management.Diplomates of the American Board of Anesthesiology(ABA) will apply to their own board, as will diplomatesof the American Board of Physical Medicine and Reha-bilitation. The ABA administers the computer-basedexamination. The first examination in which ABPN dip-lomates can participate is scheduled for September 9,2000. The test development committee includes Dr.Rollin Gallagher, a psychiatrist at the Medical College of

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TABLE 11999 Examination Results

No. of No. %Examination Candidates Passing Passing

Part I: Psychiatry 2,192 1,227 56Part I: Neurology 753 418 56Part I: Child Neurology 108 57 53

Part II: Psychiatry 1,901 1,106 58Part II: Neurology 634 395 62Part II: Child Neurology 83 51 61

SubspecialtiesChild and Adolescent Psychiatry 309 190 61Clinical Neurophysiology 297 237 80Forensic Psychiatry 656 486 74

TABLE 2Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Certification

Examination Schedule

HeadquartersDate Location Hotel

November 10–12, 2000 Denver, CO Denver MarriotCity Center

November 2–4, 2001 Baltimore, MD HyattNovember 15–17, 2002 San Antonio, TX Hyatt Regency

San Antonio

Note: Dates are as of April 2000 and are subject to change.

Pennsylvania-Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA,and Dr. Kenneth Casey, a neurologist at the VA Hospitalin Ann Arbor, MI.

Recertification

Recertification committees are actively working inchild neurology, neurology, and psychiatry and in the sub-specialties of addiction psychiatry, child and adolescentpsychiatry, clinical neurophysiology, forensic psychiatry,and geriatric psychiatry.

The ABPN’s first recertification examination, in thesubspecialty of geriatric psychiatry, was scheduled to beadministered March–May 2000.

The Board has agreed that the content for recertificationexaminations will be drawn from practice guidelines, stand-ard textbooks published in the past 5 years, current articlesfrom peer-reviewed journals, peer-reviewed monographs,and accredited continuing medical education programs.

The first Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Recertifica-tion Examination is scheduled for spring 2004. Recertifi-cation Examinations will be scheduled annually thereafter.The application deadline is October 1, 2003, and the lateapplication deadline is November 1, 2003. The ABPNreserves the right to revise its examination schedules.

EXAMINATIONS

Performance on the ABPN examinations admin-istered in 1999 is summarized in Table 1. The part II siteswere San Francisco, CA, Boston, MA, and Atlanta, GA.

TESTING INITIATIVES

Computer Testing Center

At its July 1999 meeting, the Board approved theestablishment of a computer testing center at the Boardoffices. It is anticipated that most of the written exami-nations will become computer-administered in the nextfew years. This center will be designed to be compatiblewith those already in operation at the American Boardof Pathology located in Tampa, FL, and the AmericanBoard of Radiology in Tucson, AZ.

Standardized Patient Pilot Project

The Task Force on New Methods of Certification andRecertification, co-chaired by Drs. John E. Schowalterand Rosalie A. Burns, conducted a pilot project in con-junction with Northwestern University Medical Schoolin which actors were trained to portray individuals withpsychiatric illnesses. Several directors and staff members

viewed the demonstration. In addition, several observersvisited the Medical Council of Canada’s licensure exam-ination and the Educational Commission for ForeignMedical Graduates’ assessment center, both of whichutilize standardized patients in their test processes.

Subsequently, the Board established a Subcommitteeon the Utilization of Standardized Patients, chaired byDr. John E. Schowalter, to continue to explore the appli-cability of this testing methodology to the ABPN’s certi-fication processes.

Neurology Vignettes

The Board established a Neurology Vignettes Subcom-mittee, co-chaired by Drs. H. Royden Jones, Jr., and AlanPercy, to further develop the clinical cases used in the cer-tification process for neurologists and child neurologists.

AMERICAN BOARD OF MEDICAL SPECIALTIES

The ABPN continued its active involvement in theABMS. The following ABPN directors, emeritus directors,and staff served on ABMS committees and task forces:Drs. Glenn C. Davis (Executive Committee and TaskForce on Competence), Mark L. Dyken, Jr. (BylawsCommittee and ABMS representative to AccreditationCouncil for Graduate Medical Education), Dorthea Juul(Committee on the Study of Evaluation Procedures andTask Force on Competence), Elliott L. Mancall (ABMSrepresentative to Accreditation Council for ContinuingMedical Education), Stephen C. Scheiber (DatabaseAdvisory Committee and Risk Management Committee),and Nicholas A. Vick (Nominating Committee).

M.J. Martin, M.D., ABPN director from 1984–1991,was awarded the Distinguished Service Award post-humously in recognition of his many contributions tothe organization, including serving as president from1994–1996.

In 1998 the ABMS appointed a Task Force on Compe-tence which has identified the general competencies andmajor attributes of the competent physician. The TaskForce in now focusing on assessment of these competenciesfor initial certification and for maintenance of certification.The latter represents a shift in the concept of recertificationto more clearly reflect the ongoing nature of certification.

The proposal of the ABP for subspecialty recognitionin developmental/behavioral pediatrics was revised by atask force consisting of 4 members from the ABPN and 4from the ABP. This proposal was approved at the March1999 ABMS meeting.

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COMMUNICATIONS

Information about the ABPN can be obtained in anumber of ways:• Through the Internet: We are located at www.abpn.com.• By e-mail: Send requests to abpnapp@abpn.com.• By automated application telephone system: Call

847-374-4235.

• By mail: ABPN, 500 Lake Cook Road, Ste. 335,Deerfield, IL 60015.

• By phone: Our number is 847-945-7900.

Extracted from the 1999 Annual Report of the ABPNfrom Steven C. Scheiber, Executive Vice-President.

Erratum

In the July 2000 issue of the Journal ( J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 39:934–935), the bookreview of Interviewing Children and Adolescents: Skills and Strategies of Effective DSM-IV Diagnosismisidentified the book’s authors as the book’s editors. The correct book information is:

Interviewing Children and Adolescents: Skills and Strategies of Effective DSM-IV Diagnosis. ByJames Morrison and Thomas F. Anders. New York: The Guilford Press, 1999, 482 pp., $45.00 (hardcover).

We regret the error.