Our thoughts are with the patients and staff members of Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We also wish to express our concern for those residents and fellows whose lives have been disrupted here in our Internal Medicine community. For residents, fellows, or faculty with questions regarding the effect of transfer of residency or fellowship appointment on eventual ABIM Board Eligibility, please refer to the letter posted below at the request of Hahnemann IM Program Director, Dr. David Aizenberg. ABIM is dedicated to helping doctors be the best they can be, no matter the circumstances. For any other questions related to residency or fellowship and Board Eligibility, please feel free to contact ABIM directly at academicaffairs@abim.org
Dear Dr. Aizenberg and Dr. Boyer,
We at the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) can only imagine the tremendous strain that you, your colleagues, and trainees must be experiencing with the impending closure of Hahnemann University Hospital. We reach out to you now to offer some clarifications about ABIM policies that we hope will be helpful to you and your trainees, as well as to ask if there might be any other ways we could be of assistance.
We have heard questions from some program directors about Board Eligibility for trainees who may transfer their residency or fellowship appointments from HUH to another training program and are aware that some trainees have expressed concern about the impact of the HUH closure on their training duration.
We want to assure you that all accredited training continues to meet ABIM’s policies for initial certification eligibility. Additionally, should a trainee have a “gap” in training due to relocation, we are committed to working with you and the receiving institutions/program directors to ensure that the maximum flexibility possible under ABIM’s Leave and Deficits in Required Training Time policies can be applied.
As a reminder, each trainee may have as many as 35 days per academic year of training applied to leave for any cause. This leave is “cumulative”; i.e., it can “carry over” from one academic year to the next so that only total time away over the duration of the training program at the end of training need be summed for consideration of final Board Eligibility requirements.
Additionally, ABIM’s Deficits in Required Training Time Policy allows for an additional 35 days of leave for any cause to be applied to total training requirements if the program director and Clinical Competency Committee (CCC) determine the trainee meets all competency standards at the end of training.
We would be happy to clarify these policies, which apply to Internal Medicine Residency and all Internal Medicine Fellowships, with any of the Hahnemann Program Directors or any of the Program Directors at any receiving institutions, as well as any current residents or fellows with concerns. We would also be happy to answer any other questions related to ABIM policies that may help allay concerns about accepting Hahnemann trainees.
Toward that end, we offer our contact information below as well as that of the ABIM Department of Academic Affairs. We can be reached at: academicaffairs@abim.org. Specifically, Ms. Sarah Hood, Director of Initial Certification for core IM Residency, and Mr. Mike Melfe, Credentials Manager for Subspecialties, stand ready to assist in any way possible.
Finally, is there anything else we can do to be of assistance? If so, please do let us know.
With all sincerity,
Jeffrey S. Berns, MD
Chair, ABIM Council
Chair, ABIM Nephrology Board
Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH
Senior Vice President for Academic and Medical Affairs
Professor of Medicine
Cc: Ms. Megan Scache, Program Coordinator
Ms. Sarah Hood
Mr. Michael Melfe
