General Training Requirements for Certification
- All individuals seeking ABMGG certification must fulfill all the requirements for certification.
- All individuals with a doctoral degree earned outside of the U.S., Canada, or Puerto Rico who are seeking ABMGG certification must submit their credentials for review. The review will determine the equivalency of the doctoral degree and eligibility requirements for ABMGG certification examinations.
See International Medical Certification for more information - Doctoral degree requirements for each specialty are as follows:
- Clinical Genetics and Genomics – M.D., D.O., or equivalent
- Laboratory Genetics and Genomics – M.D., D.O., or Ph.D. *
- Clinical Biochemical Genetics – M.D., D.O., or Ph.D.*
*Ph.D. must be in genetics, genomics, human genetics, or a related field within the biological sciences as determined by the ABMGG
Specialty Training Requirements for Certification
Clinical Genetics and Genomics
The Clinical Genetics and Genomics specialty training requirements include:
Satisfactory completion of two years of full-time training in an ACGME-accredited medical genetics and genomics residency following satisfactory completion of a minimum of one year of full-time training in an ACGME-accredited residency (e.g., pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, etc.) that includes at least 12 months of direct patient care experience.
-OR-
Satisfactory completion of full-time training in a dual board-approved, combined residency program, including pediatrics/medical genetics and genomics, internal medicine/medical genetics and genomics, reproductive endocrinology and infertility/medical genetics and genomics, or maternal fetal medicine subspecialty/medical genetics and genomics. Upon successful completion of the requirements of the combined training, a trainee is qualified to apply for certification by the ABMGG and the other ABMS-member board for the second discipline. Applicants must satisfactorily complete the specific credentialing requirements of each board to be eligible to sit for the examination(s) of that board. Certification in one specialty is not contingent upon certification in the other specialty.
Laboratory Specialty
The clinical laboratory specialty (Clinical Biochemical Genetics and Laboratory Genetics and Genomics) training requirements include:
Satisfactory completion of full-time training in an ACGME-accredited, laboratory genetics postdoctoral training program in one of the clinical laboratory specialties.
For certification in an additional laboratory specialty: an additional 12 months (for Clinical Biochemical Genetics) or two years (for Laboratory Genetics and Genomics) of full-time laboratory-based training in an ACGME-accredited laboratory training program in that additional specialty is required.