More than 500 physicians are slated to take the American Board of Obesity Medicine certification exam during the upcoming exam window December 5-12. This includes eight physicians from Canada, where the obesity medicine field is growing quickly.
In October, the Canadian Medical Association acknowledged obesity as a chronic disease. And now, the Canadian Obesity Network (www.obesitynetwork.ca) is developing a new prep course for Canadian physicians interested in taking the ABOM certification exam. The course is slated to launch in early 2016.

The online review course will feature 5-7 hours of educational material, as well as a sample exam at the end of the program. The network hopes to have the course independently accredited for Royal College and Main Pro M-1 accreditation, which would then qualify for online CME credits, according to CON Education Director Dawn Hatanaka. The first module is scheduled to launch February 2016 with subsequent modules launching every month. All modules are projected to be live by May 2016.
“There is a growing interest in Canada about becoming an ABOM diplomate, and it is encouraging to see more Canadian physicians following through with this certification,” says Dr. Sean Wharton, a Toronto-area clinician, ABOM diplomate and lead author of the obesity section of the Canadian Diabetes Guidelines.

Click here to learn more about the Canadian Obesity Network.

ABOM in Canada by the Numbers

• Number of Canadian ABOM Diplomates: 18
• Number of Canadian Physicians Certified in 2014: 10
• Number of Canadian Physician Candidates in 2015: 8