Board Certification and Fellowship are two separate but related undertakings. Board Certification represents a recognition of competency in Lifestyle Medicine, whereas Fellowship represents a recognition of expertise in Lifestyle Medicine. Board Certification is worth 480 points (one third) towards the ASLM Fellowship. You can complete Board Certification OR the ASLM Fellowship OR you can do both. We have many candidates who like to do both, but you do not need to do one to complete the other.
Board Certification is recognised by the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine as well as ASLM and comes with the certification logo, which you can use to promote your competence and special interest in Lifestyle Medicine.
Fellowship is understood more within the Australasian context and is accompanied by the post-nominals FASLM, which recognise your expertise in this field.
Board Certification involves an exam, but does not have a grandparenting or recognition of prior learning (RPL) pathway, whereas Fellowship does not involve an exam and currently has provisions available for grandparenting and RPL.
If you are relatively new to Lifestyle Medicine, we recommend Board Certification as being an excellent place to start. If you are quite experienced in the field, we would encourage you to apply for the ASLM Fellowship whilst it is still in its grandparenting period. We have many Fellows who also choose to do Board Certification, essentially because they like the recognition of both. We also have many Board Certification candidates who go on to do the ASLM Fellowship.
Both of these Education Pathways in Lifestyle Medicine set the standard for evidence-based Lifestyle Medicine practice, both here in Australasia and around the world.