An Alternative Pathways Oversight Committee was established by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) in 2015 to develop requirements and procedures for combined training programs and review existing programs and new applications.
COMBINED TRANING PROGRAM ABPN APPROVAL UPDATE
In July 2025 the ACGME will resume accreditation of combined programs, at which time ABPN will no longer manage the review and approval of these programs. The only exception, as of now, is approval of Post Pediatric Portal Pathway (PPP) programs. The PPP programs will continue to be reviewed and approved by ABPN.
The ACGME sent the following FAQs to combined programs with updates on the opt-in process and information about an extension to the July 1, 2025 deadline: combinedprograms_faqs.pdf.
This will not change the process or the way combined programs provide resident training details to ABPN via preCERT for board certification examination purposes. Combined program accounts, roster, and login information in preCERT will remain the same and access will not be interrupted.
Should your program not enroll in the ACGME accreditation process, its ABPN approval will lapse on June 30, 2026. As a result, graduates newly enrolling in your combined program beginning in the 2026-2027 academic year would no longer be eligible for ABPN certification.
However, if you decide against seeking accreditation by the ACGME for your combined program, residents currently enrolled in your combined program — that is, trainees who began in your program during the 2025-2026 academic year or prior — will remain eligible for ABPN certification upon successful completion of their training, provided that (a) your institution’s primary specialty training program in Psychiatry &/or Neurology remains fully accredited by the ACGME, and (b) your combined program continues to meet the ABPN requirements that were in effect at the time of its most recent approval by the ABPN.
In order for such trainees to retain eligibility, please inform the ABPN in writing by July 1, 2026, if you choose not to seek accreditation by the ACGME for your combined program. When you inform us, please include details about the number of residents, names of residents, and their year of training enrolled in your combined program for the 2026-2027 academic year who began their training during the 2025-2026 academic year or prior.
Guidelines, applications and rotation charts are available below in the ABPN-approved Post Pediatric Portal Pathway (PPP) training area for those programs interested in submitting an application. The application deadline to review new combined programs is February 1st. Applications submitted by the February 1st deadline will be reviewed by the Post Pediatric Portal Pathway Oversight Committee. Programs will be notified of the Committee’s decision by June 1st.
These requirements are for programs only. Individual residents cannot pursue combined training unless they are in an ACGME-approved combined program or an ABPN-approved PPP pathway program.
ABPN
