Specialty and Subspecialty Certificates

Medical specialties vary in their scope and focus. Some provide care across a broad range of health needs, while others focus on specific organ systems, certain patient populations, or specialized types of treatment. Many of these fields also branch out into subspecialties, allowing for even deeper expertise within a defined area of practice.

The chart below is organized by ABMS Member Board and provides an overview of the specialties and subspecialties for which board certification is offered.

Click on the Member Board names below for contact information, brief description of the specialty, an overview of certification requirements, and descriptions of the individual specialty/subspecialty certificates offered by that board.

The focused practice designation, approved by ABMS in March 2017, recognizes the value that physicians and medical specialists (also known as diplomates) who focus some or all their practice within a specific area of a specialty and/or subspecialty can provide to improving health care. 

 Specialty Certificates  Subspecialty Certificates
American Board of Allergy and Immunology
 
 No Subspecialties
American Board of Anesthesiology  

 

American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery  
No Subspecialties
American Board of Dermatology  
American Board of Emergency Medicine  
American Board of Family Medicine  
American Board of Internal Medicine  

 

American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics  
American Board of Neurological Surgery  
American Board of Nuclear Medicine  
No Subspecialties
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology  
American Board of Ophthalmology  
No Subspecialties
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery  
American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery  
American Board of Pathology  
American Board of Pediatrics
 

American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation  
American Board of Plastic Surgery  
American Board of Preventive Medicine  
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology  

 

American Board of Radiology  
American Board of Surgery  
American Board of Thoracic Surgery  
American Board of Urology

 

ABMS Guide to Medical Specialties

The ABMS Guide to Medical Specialties provides an overview of board certification and descriptions of each specialty and subspecialty areas where certification is offered by an ABMS Member Board.