ABP Pediatric Pulmonology

Candidates must be certified in pediatrics and complete three years of full-time, broad-based fellowship training in pediatric pulmonology in an ACGME- or RCPSC-accredited program. The program director must verify satisfactory training, clinical competence including professionalism, and scholarly activity. Applicants must also meet the ABP's general subspecialty eligibility criteria and pass the certifying examination.

The exam covers pediatric pulmonology broadly: physiology and lung development, airway disorders and asthma, respiratory infections, cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis, neonatal and congenital lung disease, sleep-disordered breathing, diagnostic testing and pulmonary function, and respiratory failure and intensive care. Use the ABP subspecialty content outline to set priorities; it is the most reliable public guide to what is testable.

The standard requirement is three years of full-time fellowship training. Part-time training may be completed over no more than six years. Absences or leave exceeding three months during the three years must be made up, and no continuous absence of more than one year is permitted; longer interruptions require Credentials Committee review. Confirm your individual timeline with the ABP.

Leave in excess of three months during the three-year fellowship must be made up. No continuous absence of more than one year is permitted. If fellowship is interrupted for more than 12 months, the Credentials Committee must review requests for previous credit. Training time cannot be waived for convenience, such as beginning off cycle. Follow the ABP Absences from Training Policy.

Yes. A pediatrics-certified candidate may qualify for both subspecialties with a compressed program of no less than four years (48 months), including at least 12 months of clinical pulmonology and 12 months of clinical allergy/immunology. The scholarly activity must be relevant to both. A proposal outlining all four years must be submitted to both boards before training or during the first year.

The public ABP pediatric pulmonology page does not list the item count, exam duration, or passing score. The exam is a computer-based subspecialty certifying examination, but candidates should confirm current administration details through ABP exam-day materials and the content outline rather than relying on secondhand reports. Format details can change between administrations.

The ABP public source page for pediatric pulmonology does not state a pass rate or difficulty rating. Difficulty is best judged by the breadth of the content outline and your own gap analysis. Do not treat remembered pass-rate figures as current; verify scoring and pass-rate information through ABP scoring resources. A structured, spaced review is more useful than chasing anecdotal difficulty claims.

Common mistakes include memorizing guidelines without physiology, skipping pulmonary function interpretation, and postponing sleep and intensive care topics until the end. Another failure mode is reading without retrieval practice. Build a schedule that alternates physiology, diagnostics, and clinical domains, then use board-style questions to identify weak areas and revisit each miss to the underlying concept.

Begin with pulmonary physiology, lung development, and diagnostic testing, because these concepts recur across asthma, CF, sleep, and ICU questions. Add airway disorders and infections next, then cystic fibrosis and bronchiectasis, neonatal and congenital disease, sleep-disordered breathing, and respiratory failure. Finish with mixed board-style practice and targeted review of missed concepts. Adjust the order to your own weakest domains.

No. This is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the ABP. Eligibility rules, application deadlines, exam registration, scoring, and retake policies must be confirmed directly with the ABP. The pediatric pulmonology source page does not state a retake policy, number of attempts, or waiting period, so contact the ABP before assuming a retake timeline.