AAOA Fellow Exam
Fellow Exam
Fellow Pathway and Exam Information
Written Exam – May 1 – July 31; Oral Exam – TBD
The AAOA’s voting membership is comprised of ABOto (or AOBOO) certified/eligible physicians who have demonstrated competence and qualifications through their residency training and board certification. AAOA Fellows are AAOA Members who have supplemented their otolaryngology training through AAOA CME Courses and demonstrated their enhanced expertise by passing the AAOA Fellow Examination.
An AAOA Fellow may define her/himself as a Fellow of the AAOA with ABMS-certification in otolaryngology, the scope of which includes the diagnosis and management of allergy of the aerodigestive tract.
For those interested in attaining AAOA Fellow status, the Fellow Exam will be held in two parts: an online written exam and a virtual oral exam.
NEW FELLOW PATHWAY: Start the process today and meet the requirements at your own pace within 5 year of your application.
Candidates must meet the criteria to complete the exam process to attain AAOA Fellow status. The following lists the current requirements to sit for the written and oral exam components.
Initiate Candidate Status
- Within 5-yrs of sitting for exam
Initiation Cost
- Registration Payment currently $950. Move from Associate or Resident member status to Fellow Candidate Status
Pathway Criteria/Flow
- Join AAOA (min 1 yr active member)
- Fellow Exam Application noting projected year they plan to sit for the exam
- Fellow Exam Registration Payment ($950)
- Move to Fellow Candidate as member status capped at 5 yrs
- Fellow Candidate status earns 5% discount on Basic and Explorers Registration Fees taken post Exam registration/status declaration (i.e, prior courses would not be rebated)
- Complete Basic within 5 yr of exam
- Complete Explorers within 5 yr of exam
- Complete at least 1 Annual within 5 yr of exam
- Complete one additional AAOA CME program (Basic, Explorers, Annual) within 5 yr of exam
- Attestation of primary treatment of 6 immunotherapy patients for at least 6 mo
- Successful completion of written exam (required before sitting for oral)
- Successful completion of oral exam
Confirmation of Fellow
- ABOTOHNS certification (or DO equivalent)
- Successful completion of the above criteria; Order of completion is not as important; This model allows for residents or early career to complete the Fellow pathway while undertaking the new ABOTOHNS certification process
Failure to Complete
- Failure to successfully complete either written or oral exam components requires retake and 50% registration fee for each repeated component
- Failure to successfully complete the Fellow pathway within the 5 yrs would require re-registering to re-start the pathway and 5 yrs timeline
The deadline to submit the above–noted documentation is July 1.
Incomplete applications and those received after June 1 will not be considered.
The AAOA Fellow Exam application can be downloaded here.
Contact Kate Chenal at: kchenal@aaoallergy.org with any questions.
Suggested Reference Material
The following resources are suggested in addition to the Basic and Advanced Course and New Explorers Course curricular material to assist the applicant in preparing for the AAOA Fellow Exam.
- AAOA Basic and Advanced Course content
- International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology: Volume 4, Supplement 2, September 2014
- International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology: Volume 5, Supplement 1, September 2015
- International Forum of Allergy & Rhinology: The International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology (ICAR), Volume 8, Issue 2, February 2018
Fellows of the AAOA
“I owe a lot to the AAOA and the fellowship process. Obtaining that level of expertise improved my patient outcomes greatly and made me and my practice more marketable. I was asked about my allergy practice/fellowship at several job interviews throughout my career in both private and academic practices.”
“I highly recommend putting in the work toward achieving this Fellowship. It wasn’t easy for me, but the knowledge obtained in preparation helped me introduce very beneficial improvements in my allergy practice.”
“The value of the programs of the AAOA for me started with my preparation for the Fellow Exam. I strongly recommend the entire process!.”
The status of AAOA Fellow will be granted to candidates who meet all the eligibility criteria and who pass both the oral and written parts of the Fellow Exam.
Maintaining AAOA Fellow status requires active membership and is contingent upon attendance at 2 AAOA- sponsored courses or meetings during each subsequent 5–year cycle from the date Fellow status is granted.
View and download the 2027 AAOA Fellow Exam information. Contact the AAOA at 202-955-5010 or kchenal@aaoallergy.org if you have any questions about the Fellow Exam.