Certification, recertification and maintaining certification in forensic psychiatry in the USA

Certification in forensic psychiatry in the United States has previously included testing for the appropriate fund of knowledge and in various ways and degrees the skills needed to practice this subspecialty competently. Today explicit attention is increasingly being given to supporting methods for forensic psychiatrists to systematically identify and then fortify areas of weakness in forensic knowledge and skill sets. The development of certification in forensic psychiatry can be traced through four phases: (1) certification in general psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (AB PN) a prerequisite for certification in forensic psychiatry in each of the three certification phases to follow, (2) certification in forensic psychiatry by the A merican Board of Forensic Psychiatry AB FP), (3) certification and recertification in forensic psychiatry by the AB PN and (4) certification, recertification and maintenance of certification by the AB PN. The level of actual competence has always been a challenge to assess adequately and today is both supported and further challenged by measures designed to encourage a lifetime of learning and focused self-improvement required through the AB PN's maintenance of certification program.