The DABNM is a board certification attesting to one’s competency to perform the professional aspects of Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring (IONM). This includes 1) supervision of technical personnel, 2) interpretation of neurophysiologic data, 3) elaborating a differential diagnosis, and 4) making recommendations for therapeutic interventions as necessary. The certification is open to certain highly experienced practitioners with doctoral degrees. The examination process consists of both written and oral portions. The DABNM is the only professional board certification specific to IONM.

The DABNM specifically qualifies one to perform the professional aspects of Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring (IONM), including 1) supervision of technical personnel, 2) interpretation of neurophysiologic data, 3) elaborating differential diagnoses, and 4) making recommendations for therapeutic interventions as necessary. In addition to the professional aspects of IONM, the DABNM qualifies one to perform all technical applications. In this way, the DABNM may replace the CNIM for eligible candidates who wish to obtain board certification in both the technical and professional aspects of IONM.

The ABNM and ASNM are two completely different organizations serving very different functions, and with no connection whatsoever. The ASNM is a professional society devoted to advancing the field of neuromonitoring, while the ABNM is a board certification body devoted to vetting competency of practitioners to perform neuromonitoring. One could draw a similar analogy to ASET and ABRET, or AAN and ABPN. In each case, one is a professional society, while the other is a certification body.

The DABNM is the only professional board certification specific to intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM). Other professional board certifications, such as the ABCN or ABPN, include IONM in their scope of practice. The ABPN does not not vet competency in IONM, and neither does the ABNC exam. It should be noted, however, that the ABCN administers a subspecialty exam in IONM. According to their website, only 51 US physicians maintain this subspecialty certification as of 2018. The recognized standard for vetting technical competency in IONM (i.e., for technicians and technologists) is the CNIM exam administered by the ABRET.

Board certification demonstrates competency to perform certain activities within the scope of that certification. Patients, hospitals and insurance carriers can be assured that the board certified individual is educated, experienced and committed to the profession. A practitioner who is board certified must take a recertification exam every 10 years. This is in addition to any relevant state licensing requirements. To remain board certified, he/she is required to continue to participate in educational activities that update and expand relevant clinical knowledge over the course of a career.

No. Physicians are issued a medical license by their state after completing an accredited or approved training program. A medical license is required to practice medicine in the U.S. or Canada. However, board certification is not required to practice medicine. Physicians and other Qualified Healthcare Professionals obtain and continue to maintain board certification by choice, or as a requirement by their employer or insurance carriers.

Yes (to both physician and non-physician doctors). Among other important requirements, prospective applicants must have a doctoral degree to qualify to take the ABNM examination. Only certain doctoral degrees qualify. Please consult our Policy and Procedure manual for more details.

No. Board certification through the ABNM is open to physicians and non-physician doctors. Physicians trained in the United States undergo standardized educational programs which automatically meet the education requirement for application. Given the inherent variability in educational programs for non-physician doctors and foreign-trained physicians, the ABNM requires prospective applicants to meet very specific educational standards. Please consult our Policy and Procedure manual for more details.

Board certification attests to your competence to perform professional aspects of IONM should there ever be a question. Additionally, non-physician licensure appears to be on the horizon and non-physician doctors are likely to receive advanced practice privileges and recognition by CMS and third party payors.

In this context, one must keep in mind that published Professional Practice Guidelines for IONM stipulate the following:
“Board certification relevant to the practice of IONM patient care remains necessary to practice as an IONM-Professional, and must be secured within the board-eligible period as defined by the relevant board. In the absence of a time-based standard, the ASNM standard is 7 years for acquisition of board certification.”

Click here to view guideline on ASNM website. Thus, if you are a non-physician doctor who qualifies to take the DABNM examination, you may find yourself operating outside of the recommended standard if you wait longer than 7 years to pursue professional board certification.

Diplomates are required to recertify every 10 years to maintain certification. If a Diplomate fails to recertify, he/she will be listed on our website as “not certified”. Individuals with expired certification will be required to take the entire exam over again (i.e., written and oral) in order to become certified again.

There are two methods for verifying certification status. The easiest is to visit our verification page and search for the individual. All information on the verification page is accurate and up-to-date. Alternatively, one may verify an individual’s certification status by contacting the ABNM.