Founded in 1948, the American Board of Nutrition has been a very active participant in the Intersociety Professional Nutrition Education Consortium (IPNEC) since it was founded in 1997, in order to develop a unified model that will allow physician nutrition specialists to be more widely recognized. IPNEC enjoys participation from many professional nutrition societies, and has made substantial progress on its objectives.
IPNEC founded a new board entitled the American Board of Physician Nutrition Specialists (ABPNS), which offered its first Certification Examination for Physician Nutrition Specialists on November 17, 2001.
The American Board of Nutrition will give no further examinations to physicians or other nutrition professionals. However, ABN certification remains valid indefinitely. In addition, diplomates of the American Board of Nutrition are eligible to receive ABPNS certification, valid until November 17, 2011, without taking the ABPNS certification examination. The application for certification under this provision is available through the ABPNS website, www.abpns.net
Persons wishing to verify the American Board of Nutrition certification status of a physician should contact the ABPNS through the Contact Us link on the ABPNS website, www.abpns.net
The American Board of Nutrition thoroughly endorses the new ABPNS examination and recommends it to all physicians who desire certification in nutrition. For further information, a Handbook for Candidates, and application materials, www.abpns.net
For suggestions on materials to study in preparation for the ABPNS examination, see the ABPNS Curriculum Guide at www.apbns.net
For general information on ABPNS, see www.abpns.net.