Pandemic Medicine

Overview

Physician specialists remain crucial in ensuring health and safety during pandemics. Pandemics related to infectious diseases only constitute a subset of all pandemics. Chronic conditions can also result in pandemics such as those observed with obesity and opioid use disorder. Preparedness in public health applies to pandemics as well as other disasters.

Physicians board certified in pandemic medicine can navigate the challenges more effectively whether working as individual practitioners or working in large systems. As individual practitioners pandemic medicine physicians can manage and treat individual patient conditions while offering guidance and counseling. As organizational and community experts pandemic medicine physicians can lead with evidence-based medicine at the population level.

ABPH enables you to earn your board certification in less than one month. You can advance your career with expert specialty credentials. You can serve as a physician expert in your organization and community. You can offer physician specialist consulting to businesses. You can further your education and training with additional subspecialties. The American College of Public Health (ACPH) has published free Study Guides online for the Pandemic Medicine Exam, the Culinary Medicine Exam, and the Diversity Medicine Exam on their website at theacph.org.

Board Certification in Pandemic Medicine

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Eligibility Requirements

• Active medical license in a state in the United States
• Completion of an ACGME-accredited residency
• ABMS primary specialty board certification
• CME: 25 hours related to the specialty area
• CV/Resume
• Personal statement of relevant experience
• Letter of reference from a physician who is certified by one of the ABMS member boards

Exam Contents

Free Online Study Guide

• From the American College of Public Health (ACPH)
• Website Link: theacph.org

Infectious Disease Agents: 30%

• Viruses (e.g., Variola/Smallpox, Poliovirus, Ebola, Influenza, HIV, SARS-CoV-1, MERS, and SARS-CoV-2): 25%
• Bacteria (e.g., Yersinia and Cholera): 3%
• Parasites (e.g., Plasmodium/Malaria): 2%

Non-Infectious Conditions: 10%

• Obesity epidemic/pandemic
• Opioid epidemic/pandemic
• Mental health epidemic/pandemic

Testing: 10%

• Laboratory approaches (e.g., PCR, antibody, and antigen)
• Test characteristics (e.g., validity, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value)
• Selection biases and data interpretation

Epidemiology: 10%

• Transmission, pathogenicity, virulence, and case fatality
• Geographical and seasonal phenomena
• Interpretations of patterns and trends

Infection Control: 10%

• Healthcare settings
• Non-healthcare settings
• Evidence-based approaches

Vaccines: 10%

• Mechanisms
• Risks versus benefits
• Safety and efficacy

Therapeutics: 5%

• Antivirals, antibiotics, antiparasitics
• Monoclonal antibodies
• Convalescent plasma

Social Determinants of Health: 5%

• Risk factors and protective factors
• Vulnerable populations
• Addressing social determinants

Health Policy: 3%

• Emergency provisions
• Public health law authority
• Evidence-based policy making

Prevention and Preparedness: 3%

• Public health infrastructure
• Local, state, and federal coordination
• Logistics preparation and execution

Health Communication: 2%

• Honesty and transparency
• Risk communication
• Health literacy

Ethics: 2%

• Beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice
• Utilization of limited resources
• Global health issues