Independent Board Membership Requirements

General Membership Criteria

1. Accredited training programs, from which candidates are accepted for certification, must be a minimum of six (6) months of clearly identifiable training.(1)
2. Training accepted for certification shall not overlap with training for a core specialty. Concurrent training is training that satisfies the requirements for more than one accredited program. Such training would be prohibited except in circumstances where subspecialty training is either accredited by the UCNS or the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the subspecialties agree to share training, and the time allotted to each subspecialty is clearly defined. The training must be reviewed and pre-approved by each subspecialty and by the UCNS.
3. If a practice track (2) is offered, this practice track shall terminate not more than five (5) years from the date of initial certification.
4. Candidates for UCNS subspecialty certification must be certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), another appropriate American Board of Medical Specialties member board or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Candidates who have qualified for examination by these organizations, but have not been certified, may sit for a subspecialty certification examination approved by the UCNS but may not receive notice of the results of that examination until the above criterion has been satisfied.
5. Candidates for UCNS subspecialty certification must be certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), another appropriate American Board of Medical Specialties member board or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Candidates who have qualified for examination by these organizations but have not been certified, may sit for a subspecialty certification examination approved by the UCNS but may not receive notice of the results of that examination until the above criterion has been satisfied.
6. Certificates may not be issued for terms exceeding ten (10) years.

(1) Consideration will be given to program requirements submitted by a UCNS accredited training program, that utilize alternative educational methods or non-traditional training pattern to achieve required knowledge, skills, and competencies.

(2) A practice track is a process that allows physicians who initiated the subspecialty prior to the availability of accredited training programs to qualify for the examination by meeting a defined series of criteria.

Independent Board Membership Criteria

1. Agreement to abide by the accreditation and certification standards adopted by the UCNS Board.
2. Demonstration that the subspecialty represents a unique body of scientific knowledge in neurology.
3. Demonstration that there exists a comprehensive set of training requirements to support the approval of accredited training programs.
4. Agreement on the training requirements and certification process by the major organizations in the specialty and subspecialties.
5. Demonstration that there is an organizational structure in the subspecialty that is able to develop and sustain the accreditation and certification of residents trained in the subspecialty. The elements to be considered include but are not limited to:
   • One (1) or more national organizational sponsors that broadly represent the interests of the subspecialty and are capable of providing the experts, necessary to support the required accreditation and certification activities through the UCNS or the accreditation activities of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).
   • Recognition of the subspecialty by a national medical organization.
   • One or more national peer-reviewed medical journals that regularly publish the basic or clinical research being conducted by the members of the subspecialty.
6. Agreement to accept for certification only candidates from training programs accredited by the UCNS, the ACGME, or the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. Exceptions must be specifically outlined in the UCNS membership application.
7. Agreement to develop and administer examinations in accordance with the UCNS standards (see examination criteria).
8. Demonstration that there currently exists at least five (5) training programs in the subspecialty.
9. Agreement to pay an affiliation fee as defined by the UCNS Board.
10. Agreement to pay a certificate fee for all initial certificates issued by the Independent Board and for all certificates reissued by the Independent Board.
11. Agreement to place on all certificates and information issued by the Independent Board a statement that the Board is affiliated with the UCNS.

Approved by the UCNS Board of Directors: July 2003