ISAM’s International Certification of Addiction Medicine: The First Decade

This chapter reviews a decade’s effort by the International Society of Addiction Medicine to develop a multiple choice test of knowledge in the field. The process of establishing a pool of questions as well as criteria for eligibility to challenge such an examination is described. Lessons derived from the repeated administration of the exam are reviewed. An international examination is possible involving questions with good psychometric properties. The challenges of striving for an “a-cultural examination” are reported as well as the necessities of cost accessibility, security, and sensitivity.