Philadelphia, January 31, 2017 — The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) certifies more than 200,000 physicians across America and in 60 countries around the world. These internists and subspecialists, of all ethnicities and religions, differentiate themselves every day through their specialized knowledge and commitment to excellent patient care.
ABIM is proud of the diversity represented in the internal medicine community. Millions of patients with a wide variety of conditions—including arthritis, diabetes, heart disease and cancer–rely on ABIM Board Certified doctors as their primary care physicians and specialists. We all share an interest in assuring that patients receive treatment from highly qualified physicians.
ABIM has determined that there are nearly 1,200 physicians in U.S. internal medicine residencies or fellowship training programs from the seven countries listed in the recent federal travel ban. We are greatly concerned about the impact the recent travel ban could have on the pipeline of young physicians who represent the future of the profession and who will provide care to Americans everywhere over the course of their careers. It is in no one's interest to prevent or restrict people of different nationalities and faiths from advancing medicine and science.
ABIM is committed to doing what we can to protect these physicians scheduled to take Certification and Maintenance of Certification exams in the coming months from any negative impact from this ban. ABIM will do all it can to accommodate these physicians and will reach out to offer assistance, including waiving the international test center fee for those physicians caught outside of the United States as a result of this ban.
We encourage those impacted to contact us with questions and concerns at 1-800-441-2246 or email request@abim.org.
ABIM Board Certified Doctors Make a Difference
Internists and subspecialists who earn and maintain board certification from the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) differentiate themselves every day through their specialized knowledge and commitment to continual learning in service of their patients. Established as an independent nonprofit more than 80 years ago, ABIM continues to be driven by doctors who want to achieve higher standards for better care in a rapidly changing world. Visit ABIM's blog to learn more and follow ABIM on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. ABIM is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties.