The American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) offers the Family Practice examination for certification purposes. Candidates must fulfill the eligibility requirements before taking this test.
This familty practice test is single-level, which means there is only one test to complete. It may be either computer-based or taken with a pencil and paper. Once a candidate turns in the application, he or she has three years to take the test, and can only take the test three times during that period. If the candidate does not pass any of the three attempts, he or she will need to start over with a new application. Extenuating circumstances may be considered, as long as the candidate has documentation of the problem. Candidates will receive the results by no later than 75 days after taking the test. Candidates only receive a pass or fail outcome (no actual number will be given).
The content of the test is broken down as follows, with the number of questions for each domain in parentheses after each: Allergies/immunology (7); alternative medicine (1); cardiovascular diseases (10); dermatology (9); domestic violence (4); endocrinology (6); epidemiology (2); gastroenterology (8); general surgery (4); geriatrics (9); hematology/oncology (5); infectious diseases (8); medical and surgical emergencies (5); neurology (6); nutrition (6); obstetrics/gynecology (6); occupational medicine (4); ophthalmology (4); orthopedics (7); otorhinolaryngology (8); pathology – tissue and laboratory values (5); pediatrics (9); preventive medicine (8); psychiatry (8); public health (3); radiology (5); renal diseases (5); respiratory diseases (8); rheumatology (6); signs and symptoms of diseases (10); sports medicine (6); urology (6); and ethics (2).