ACCREDITATION COUNCIL FOR GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION ANNOUNCES SPECIALTY DESIGNATION OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND GENERAL PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

The three specialties initially under the broad umbrella of preventive medicine will now be recognized as distinct fields of practice ? Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Aerospace Medicine

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) embraces the recent news from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) that Public Health and General Preventive Medicine will now be recognized as a distinct medical specialty.

This new designation firmly establishes Public Health and General Preventive Medicine (PH/GPM) as the ACGME-certified specialty for public health and preventive medicine physicians. Residency training programs for Public Health and General Preventive Medicine will follow independent curricula aligning with a more focused set of guidelines from ACGME for training the next generation of public health and preventive medicine physician specialists.

"This change represents a significant step toward clarifying the unique role in medicine that public health and preventive medicine physicians serve," said Dr. M. Tonette Krousel-Wood, MD, MSPH, FACPM, President of the American College of Preventive Medicine. " Previously "preventive medicine" was an umbrella for three core specialties and now we can amplify the specific role and training of preventive medicine in public health," added Dr. Krousel-Wood. 

"The American College of Preventive Medicine is proud to be the professional home for all physicians practicing in public health and specifically those boarded in preventive medicine," said Donna Grande, CEO of the American College of Preventive Medicine. "We hope this adjustment will clarify the role of public health in preventive medicine and the impact physicians trained in this unique specialty can make in population health. The pandemic clearly paved a way for this important and timely announcement and we hope this eases the way for medical students and residents alike to select a career in public health and preventive medicine."

For more information about Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, visit ACPM online.

The American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM) is a professional medical society of approximately 2,000 physicians dedicated to improving the health and quality of life of individuals, families, communities and populations through disease prevention and health promotion.

For more information, visit www.acpm.org 

Contact: Drew Wallace, [email protected]

SOURCE American College of Preventive Medicine