CAQ Policies and Appeals

CAQ APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Certificate of Added Qualification (CAQ) in Advanced Diagnostic Bronchoscopy

Application Requirements

  1. Board Certified or Board Eligible in pulmonary medicine or thoracic surgery from the USA or Canada.
  2. Proof of training in Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS) guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (TBNA) AND Guided Peripheral Bronchoscopy using Radial EBUS or one of the advanced bronchoscopy platforms: SuperDimension, Veran, or Robot-assisted bronchoscopy using the Monarch system (Note: the ION system and Illumisite (fluoroscopy navigation) will be implemented in the future once the assessment tool validation has been completed).
    • Proof of training may come from pulmonary or pulmonary critical care fellowship, thoracic surgery fellowship training OR attendance and completion of training courses or electives at national or international locations.
      1. Provide the name of the institution, dates attended, and the name(s) of the mentor/supervising physician.
      2. Letter showing existing privileges/credentials to perform the above specified bronchoscopies OR a letter from your mentor OR your current supervisor OR your division chief/director OR your pulmonary/pulmonary critical care fellowship director attesting your competency in the above procedures.
  3. Interventional Pulmonology board-eligible or board-certified physicians are not eligible to participate in the CAQ process.
Updated: 09/19/2022

REFUND POLICY

This refund policy applies to the KAT and PAT.

All documentation must be received prior to the application submission deadline of (2022 Deadline TBD) @ 11:59 pm EST.  Failure to provide all documentation will lead to forfeiture of the application fee.  If the applicant chooses to withdraw from consideration he/she will have 1 week from the date of initial application for a full refund (This is the CANCELLATION DEADLINE), after which a penalty of $150 will be kept for administrative costs. If the withdrawal is requested before the application is marked as complete, the penalty of $150 will apply.  If the withdrawal is requested after the application is marked as complete, refunds will be processed as per the policy outlined below or the applicant may choose to apply the full amount towards the next year’s application plus any additional costs if applicable. (See refund policy below.)

  • 85% of the exam fee will be refunded if cancellation is received on or before 11:59 pm EST of the respective payment deadline.
  • 50% of the exam fee will be refunded when cancellation is received between 12:00 midnight EST on the day after the respective payment deadline and 11:59 p.m. EST on the day prior to the correlating exam.
Once all of the credentialing material has been submitted, an individual account and packet will be put together by the AABIP administrative staff and forwarded to the Chair of the CAQ Eligibility Review Committee to be reviewed. Rejections must be accompanied by appropriate comments by the CAQ Eligibility Committee.  If approval is not granted, the funds will be refunded.

NOTIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY

If accepted, the applicant will be notified by e-mail regarding eligibility to sit for the examination. This eligibility will be valid for three years. The applicant must sit and successfully complete the CAQ KAT and PAT during this time-frame, if they are unable to do so, the applicant will be required to complete the application process again, including application fee.

Please allow the Eligibility Review Committee 4 to 6 weeks to review your application.

REJECTION AND APPEAL

If the application is rejected, the notification will come by e-mail as well as a letter from the current Chair of the Eligibility Review Committee.  If the application is rejected, the individual will have the opportunity for an appeal.  The appeal must be initiated by the applicant via a formal email to [email protected] requesting review.  This appeal must be requested within 2 weeks of the date of the rejection letter, in order to make the deadline for the examination. Chair of the CAQ Eligibility Review Committee will then review the appeal and entire application.  If the application is rejected again, the Chair of the CAQ Eligibility Review Committee will present this application to the AABIP Board of Directors.  The Board of Directors will vote anonymously and majority opinion determines the final status of the appeal.  If the Board of Directors’ decision is to confirm rejection of the application, the final notification will be sent to the applicant by e-mail as well as a formal letter from the AABIP, signed by the current President.  The applicant will, however, have the opportunity to reapply for future examinations based on the applicable criteria at that time.

Once the application process has been completed and approved, the Eligibility Review Committee will compile a list of individuals accepted to sit for the examination and forward this to Scantron, who will provide the registrant with all of the necessary information regarding exam registration, location and logistics.