ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

In order to be eligible for certification through the American Board of Urgent Care
Medicine, the applicant  must meet the following requirements:

  • Graduation from a medical or osteopathic school which is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) or graduation from a medical school or osteopathic school which is recognized by the World Health Organization.
  • Completion of a residency which is accredited by the American College of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) or College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) in Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics or Occupational Medicine.** 
  • A current, unrestricted license to practice medicine in a state, district or territory of the United States and a current DEA certificate.
  • Completion of 100 hours of Category 1 Continuing Medical Education (CME) averaged over the past two years.
  • Practice experience in Urgent Care Medicine for a minimum of five years/seven thousand (7,000) hours*.

*Practice experience in Urgent Care Medicine is defined as working in a facility which provides immediate medical service (no appointment necessary) offering outpatient evaluation and treatment for patients of all ages with a broad spectrum of acute, not immediately life-threatening injuries and illnesses. Urgent Care facilities include medical clinics that are free-standing or separate clinics within hospitals or larger multi-specialty practices, fast-track areas within an emergency department, and Family Practice clinics that also offer Urgent Care services. Practice experience may include a combination of previous Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology , Pediatrics  and/or Occupational Medicine practice and Urgent Care Medicine.

 **For physicians who may not have completed an approved ACGME training program in a primary care specialty, the physician is required to:  

  • Have completed one (1) year in an ACGME-approved (or RCPSC-accredited or CFPC-accredited) residency program in Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics or Occupational Medicine, and
  • Have a minimum of six (6) years of practice in the specialty of Urgent Care Medicine or six (6) years of full-time teaching in a post-graduate training program accredited by the ACGME, and
  • Have completed a minimum of 400 hours of Category 1 Continuing Medical Education in Urgent Care Medicine (or similar, for example: Emergency Medicine, Family Practice, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology , Pediatrics and/or Occupational Medicine) completed over the previous six years.