Certificate of Added Qualification

Hospice and Palliative Medicine

The CAQ in Hospice and Palliative Medicine is offered in conjunction with the American Board of Internal Medicine and eight other ABMS member boards to recognize your training and knowledge in the care of patients with life-limiting illnesses.

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Hospice and Palliative Medicine Important Dates Hospice and Palliative Medicine Longitudinal Assessment Hospice and Palliative Medicine One-Day Exam

At-A-Glance

The Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Hospice and Palliative Medicine recognizes your fellowship training and knowledge of care to prevent and relieve the suffering experienced by patients with life-limiting illnesses.

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Initial Certification Requirements for Hospice and Palliative Medicine

If you are interested in obtaining a CAQ in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, you are required to:

Continuously maintain your family medicine certification.
Complete a minimum of 12 months of full-time training in an ACGME-accredited Hospice and Palliative Medicine fellowship training program and submit verification of completion documentation.
Submit an online application with associated fees.
Achieve a passing score on the Hospice and Palliative Medicine one-day exam.

For information regarding CAQ board eligibility, visit the CAQ Board Eligibility page.

Maintaining Certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine

To maintain your CAQ in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, you are required to:

Continuously maintain your family medicine certification.
Submit annual CAQ certification fees.
Complete the online application with associated fees.
Achieve a passing score on the Hospice and Palliative Medicine Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA) or one-day exam.

Regaining Certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine

If you previously held a CAQ in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, you can regain certification by:

Continuously maintaining your family medicine certification.
Submitting an online application with associated fees.
Achieving a passing score on the Hospice and Palliative Medicine one-day exam or LKA.

Please note, if you enroll in LKA while your certification has lapsed, you will not regain certification until you complete the assessment with a passing score (at the end of year five).

How Do I Get Started?

If you are interested in obtaining, maintaining, or regaining a CAQ in Hospice and Palliative Medicine, you may access the online exam application under “Added Qualifications” in your MyABFM Portfolio.

For additional information, please contact us at hospice@theabfm.org.

Quick Links

Important Dates

View important dates and upcoming deadlines for the one-day exam and longitudinal assessment.

Longitudinal Assessment

Learn more about LKA for Hospice and Palliative Medicine.