The Council on Podiatric Medical Education (Council or CPME) is responsible for the specialty board approval and recognition process on behalf of the podiatric medical profession.
The CPME is an autonomous, professional accrediting agency designated by the American Podiatric Medical Association’s (APMA) House of Delegates to serve as the agency for the evaluation, accreditation, approval, and recognition of educational institutions, continuing education providers, residency and fellowship training programs, and specialty boards in the field of podiatric medicine. APMA assigns the responsibility of specialty board recognition to the CPME. This authority allows the CPME to recognize entities that offer board certification and that demonstrate and maintain compliance with the standards and requirements.
The mission of the Council is to promote the quality of graduate education, postgraduate education, certification, and continuing education. By confirming these programs meet established standards and requirements, the Council serves to protect the public, podiatric medical students, and doctors of podiatric medicine.
The CPME has established the Specialty Board Recognition Committee (SBRC), which is a committee comprised of representatives of the profession, health-care community, and public to oversee the recognition process. The CPME and the SBRC are committed to assuring the public that those podiatric physicians who are certified have successfully completed the requirements for certification in an area of specialization.
The process for reviewing specialty boards in the podiatric medical profession includes concurrent review of the substantive issues related to certification within a special area of practice and the assessment of the capabilities of the specialty board to conduct and operate a proper certifying process.
The CPME and the SBRC want to ensure the orderly development of specifically identified special areas of practice with the profession and the compliance of specialty boards in meeting the standards, requirements, and procedures as written in CPME 220 and CPME 230.
The recognition of a specialty board serves to provide important information to the profession, health-care institutions, and the public about the sound operations and fair conduct of the specialty board’s certification process.
The purposes of the CPME’s recognition process include:
- determining the eligibility of proposed specialty boards to meet the standards, requirements, and procedures as written in CPME 220 and CPME 230 and determining whether or not a public and professional need exists for the conduct of a certification process in a special area of podiatric medical practice;
- continuing recognition of existing boards;
- modifying existing types of certification;
- preventing unnecessary duplication by specialty boards; and
- maintaining minimal standards for the conduct and operation of specialty boards.
Two specialty boards aligned with three special areas of practice are recognized by the Council. Recognition is based upon the demonstrated ability of a board to satisfy established criteria. With a view towards ensuring the health and safety of the public, only one specialty board may be recognized to conduct certification for each designated podiatric medical specialty area.
Recognized as the certifying board for the specialty areas of podiatric orthopedics and primary podiatric medicine is the:
American Board of Podiatric Medicine
1060 Aviation Boulevard, Suite 100
Hermosa Beach, CA 90254
310-375-0700
310-475-1386 (fax)
Recognized as the certifying board for the specialty area of podiatric surgery is the:
American Board of Foot and Ankle Surgery
445 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA 94117-3404
415-553-7800
415-553-7801 (fax)