American College of Podiatric Medicine (ACPM formerly known as the American College of Foot and Ankle Orthopedic Medicine ACFAOM) January 1, 2020.

The ACPM is dedicated to the education and advocacy of podiatric physicians specializing in podiatric medicine. With approximately 1,600 active members, ACPM is the only Specialty Organization affiliated with the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) that represents the full scope of the medical, orthopedic, and biomechanical aspects of podiatric practice. ACPM advocates for the importance of maintaining thorough scientific knowledge and clinical skills in the biomechanical and medical aspects of podiatric practice. 

ACPM is the largest APMA-affiliated specialty college. Founded in 1949 and incorporated in 1951 as the American College of Foot Orthopedists (ACFO), the name was changed in the early 1990's to better reflect the scope of interest of the membership.

ACPM is a distinct and separate organization from the ABPM. The two organizations serve different purposes within the profession, but on occasion collaborate in areas of mutual interest.

ACPM offers several forms of educational content such as e-Learning POD Program, Expert Lecture Series  and online CME Conferences.  ACPM also offers member discount pricing on a Review Text  which is a great study guide for the Certification Exam and Coding Manual as well as Free Resident and Student Memberships.

More information and applications to join can be found on their website www.acpmed.org 

A Diplomate of the ABPM must adhere to the following advertising guidelines:

Only the following statements are acceptable for this purpose:

1. Diplomate, American Board of Podiatric Medicine

2. Board Certified, American Board of Podiatric Medicine

3. Certified American Board of Podiatric Medicine

The organization’s initials (ABPM) may be substituted for the full name.

Advertising board qualified classification is prohibited.

Information may be obtained on the secured members dashboard for the ABPM logo and Board Certified logo which may be used on the Dipomates website.   

Emeritus: Active members in good standing for 25 consecutive years are subject to reduced annual dues.

We do not have copies of certificates in the office but we can send you a letter of current board status which can be used for credentialing purposes.  You may order unframed or framed certificates through board headquarters by calling (310) 375-0700 or e-mail admin@ABPMed.org

On August 17, 2012, at the Annual Meeting of Members, the American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine officially rolled out the new name under which it will be doing business: 

American Board of Podiatric Medicine

Information on the ABPM Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Amputation Prevention/Wound Care can be found on our website:

https://www.abpmed.org/pages/exam-info/caq-amputation-prevention

Information for the 2023 examination cycle will be available in November 2022.  General information can be found on the Exam Information page of our website.

You may schedule your appointment after receiving your authorization by logging on to the Pearson VUE website at http://www.pearsonvue.com/abpmed or calling (800) 990-1976.  After scheduling your appointment, you will be sent a confirmation that provides additional details, including directions to the test center, instructions on what to bring with you and other pertinent information.

Once revoked, reinstatement is subject to approval by the Board of Directors, and requires a reinstatement fee equivalent to the fee for the current board certification or board qualification examination, as is appropriate to the member’s classification at the time of revocation.

The Board of Directors shall have the authority to revoke a member for the following reasons:

A.  failure to pay the annual registration fee plus any late fee by the date indicated on the final notice.

B.    conviction for an offense which causes the member’s license to practice podiatry to be revoked in any state.  Any of the following actions against a Diplomate's medical license may be cause for loss of diplomate status:

(1) Involuntary suspension by any appropriate medical board and/or governmental agency;

(2) Revocation by any appropriate medical board and/or governmental agency; or

(3) Voluntary suspension due to negotiated settlement with any appropriate medical board and/or governmental agency for a violation of a statute or accepted medical standards.

C.  failure to adhere to the requirements for re-evaluation as set forth in the “Re-evaluation of Diplomates” section of this document.

D.  misrepresentation of facts, or evidence of providing false information, in connection with the application for certification or other related documents.

E.  failure to adhere to the advertising guidelines as outlined in these policies.

F.   failure to adhere to the Code of Ethics as adopted by the Board of Directors.

Items A, B and C are cause for immediate revocation of status without benefit of a hearing.  Items D, E and F are subject to revocation following a hearing.

The American Board of Podiatric Medicine (ABPM) is recognized by the Joint Committee on the Recognition of Specialty Boards, under the authority of the American Podiatric Medical Association. The ABPM began certifying podiatric physicians in the specialty of Podiatric Orthopedics in 1978, and added the additional area of Primary Podiatric Medicine in 1993.  Both areas are now included in a single recognized specialty.  The examinations are administered annually.

The Board conducts primary source verification of graduation and residency information on each candidate, including the names and locations of the institutions and dates of graduation or completion, in compliance with Council on Podiatric Medical Education standards.  State licensing and disciplinary actions are tracked and verified annually.

Effective August 17, 2012 the American Board of Podiatric Orthopedics and Primary Podiatric Medicine began doing business as (DBA) "The American Board of Podiatric Medicine".  This change is limited only to the name by which the organization is referenced in our communications with the membership and outside organizations, and in connection with primary source verification of a given board qualified or board certified member.

Verifications can be requested on our website under the Credentialers Tab either:

1. Using the HTML Order Form – Complete the verification request electronically paying with a credit card. Once payment is approved, the following applies.

• For annual subscription requests, Board Headquarters will email you additional information.
• For individual verification requests, you will be redirected to a page where you can print the verification results or save the access code and link for future reference.

2. Using the PDF Order Form – Print and complete the form requesting verification. Fax the form along with credit card information or mail the form with a check to Board Headquarters.

The following fees apply to verification requests:

Five or fewer verifications: $35.00 each
Six – 10 verifications: $30.00 each
More than 10 verifications: $27.00 each.
Payment must be provided via company checks, MasterCard, Visa or American Express. Requests will not be fulfilled until payment is received.

The definition of each membership class is as follows:

A.       Board Qualified: a podiatrist who:

1.           has graduated from a College of Podiatric Medicine approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association, and

2.     maintains in good standing an active license to practice podiatric medicine issued by at least one appropriate medical board and/or governmental agency in which the Diplomate has a license, and

3.     has successfully completed the requirements of the board qualification examination.

B.   Diplomate: a podiatrist who:

1.           has graduated from a College of Podiatric Medicine approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education of the American Podiatric Medical Association, and

2.           maintains in good standing an active license to practice podiatric medicine issued by at least one appropriate medical board and/or governmental agency in which the Diplomate has a license, and

3.     has successfully completed the requirements of the board certification examination.

Candidates for the board qualification examination may take the examination prior to their obtaining full licensure as indicated in #2.  They will not be granted Board Qualified status, however, until such licensure is obtained.

The Board of Directors shall establish the annual re-registration fee.  Such fee shall be due and payable by February 1st of each calendar year. Annual re-registration fees are due postmarked within 60 days of the date appearing on the first notice. Payments received after that date will incur a late fee determined by the Board.

A.    With the exception of individuals noted in section B, an annual re-registration fee (dues payment) is required of all active members, including Founders and Emeritus-Diplomates with 25 or more years of membership are subject to a 50% reduction of their annual re-registration fee.  Diplomates granted Emeritus status prior to 2007 are exempt from re-registration fees.

B.       A Diplomate who:

          a.      has completely retired from active practice, or

          b.      who is not actively deriving any portion of their income from the profession of podiatry

shall not be required to pay re-registration fees but shall continue to be considered a Diplomate.  A Diplomate must provide appropriate verification of retirement, inactivity, or disability, to the Board of Directors for their review and approval, following the rules of retirement or life membership qualification of the APMA. Diplomates who are disabled or inactive in podiatry must provide verification of such status to the board on an annual basis.

The definitions of membership status are as follows:

1.  Active:      Engaged in, and deriving income from, the profession of podiatric medicine

        a. Traditional – actively involved in direct patient care

        b. Atypical - A Diplomate whose career path is atypical (e.g. largely or exclusively administration, education, etc.) and does not meet the criteria for another status.

2. Disabled: Disabled as defined herein means that the member can adequately document a medical disability that precludes their ability to temporarily practice the profession of podiatry for a period not to exceed one year.

3.  Retired/Inactive: A member no longer engaged in clinical practice who derives no income from podiatric medicine or can document permanent disability.

4. Suspended: A member who has failed to pay annual re-registration fees by the prescribed deadline

Receipts are generated electronically and copies can also be located on the ABPM members dashboard under "email messages" on the left panel of the dashboard.

The following subject areas are tested to determine Board Certified status, along with their approximate proportional representation in the Certification examination.include the blueprint.

Categories may include topics from the blueprint with special considerations in pediatric and geriatric patients. Both local and systemic manifestations of relevant podiatric pathology are assessed.

The Didactic portion, or multiple choice section, is primarily designed to assess a candidate's breadth of knowledge. The Didactic portion of the examination consists of 100 multiple-choice questions. Each question is followed by four or more responses, of which there is a single best response available. Key words in the question stem, such as most, least, only, or except are highlighted to facilitate comprehension. There are no questions with responses such as: all of the above; none of the above; or combined responses, e.g. A and C.

The Case Review Section of the Examination consists of a variety of separate clinical scenarios that need to be worked through by the candidate. The clinical scenarios and related questions may involve any of the areas listed in the subjects listed above. Candidates are provided with patient and clinical information from which to work through the case. Each segment of the question is assigned specific scoring criteria, such as an appropriate history and physical examination, requesting appropriate additional laboratory and/or imaging studies, making the proper diagnosis, determining the appropriate treatment plan, etc. The particular scoring requirements of each case vary based on the presented information.

You may contact board headquarters at (310) 375-0700 or send e-mail to admin@ABPMed.org.  You may also access all Board of Directors and staff e-mail on our website under the about us tab.

You may log in to the Dashboard on the ABPM website under the members tab using your member ID as the user name.  For security purposes, you are able to reset or create a new password by clicking "forgot password".  An e-mail will be sent to you with instructions on resetting your password and is encrypted in the ABPM database so no one else has access to it.  Headquarters staff no longer has access to passwords.

Please refer to the ABPM Policy Manual under the memers tab of the ABPM website regarding suspension, revocation and process for appeal.

As of 2007, the Self-Assessment is required of active Diplomates, regardless of age, who hold “Lifetime” certificates (certificates issued prior to 1994) and who are in their 10th year of their re-credentialing cycle.

As of 2011, Lifetime certificate holders may continue to re-credential through the self-assessment examination or may elect to enter the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.

Certificates are time-limited to 10 years. Re-credentialing occurs on a 10-year cycle through the MOC program. 

Yes!

Upon becoming board certification from ABPM, you will automatically receive 2 points the following cycle, and will fulfill the Cognitive Expertise section of the MOC requirements.

For all other board certifications received, a certificate or letter showing board status, must be uploaded to the dashboard for review. 

Note: You will only recieve Category 1 points within 12 months of acheiving board status from any of the approved entities.