Accommodations

OCE Accommodations Policy

ABOMS will make every effort to provide all appropriate and reasonable efforts to accommodate any requests in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Issues such as a second language, test anxiety, slow reading without an identified underlying physical or mental deficit, and failure to achieve a desired outcome are not learning disabilities and generally are not covered by the Americans with Disability Act. ABOMS offers all examinations in the English language only.

Applicants must answer “Yes” to the disability/special accommodations question on the application and must send all to the ABOMS administrative office by the required due date.

Supporting documentation must not be older than three years.

Required Documentation:

• Documentation of previous accommodations provided by educational institutions.
• Evaluation from an appropriate licensed professional (physician and/or psychologist). The report must be on professional letterhead and must include but is not limited to, the following:
  1. The professional’s qualifications, address, telephone number and original signature.
  2. The test taker’s name and date of evaluations.
  3. The specific diagnostic tests or procedures administered. Diagnostic methods used should be appropriate to the disability and in alignment with current professional protocol.
  4. The results of the tests or procedures and a comprehensive interpretation of the results.
  5. The specific diagnosis of the disability, with an accompanying description of the test taker’s limitation due to the disability.
  6. A summary of the completed evaluation with recommendations for the specific accommodations requested and how they will reduce the impact of identified functional. limitations and how they pertain to participation in the ABOMS examination.

Not Acceptable Documentation:

• Handwritten/emailed letters from licensed professionals
• Handwritten patient records or notes from patient chart
• Diagnoses on prescription pads
• Self-evaluations
• Research articles
• Any documentation older than three years

Service Animals

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a “service animal is defined as a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform a specific task for an individual with a disability. The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person’s disability.”

Use of a Service Animal

1. Use of a service animal must be associated with a specific disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act. This includes a service animal trained to detect medical conditions such as an epileptic seizure or adverse diabetic condition.
2. No specific documentation or certification relative to the training of a service animal is required to demonstrate the task(s) that are to be performed by the service animal. However, any request for the use of a “service animal” during the taking of an ABOMS examination must be submitted in writing. The information must include:
   • The disability that requires the use of a service animal.
   • What work or specific task the service animal performs for the examinee.
3. The examinee is responsible for supervising and controlling the behavior of the service animal. An examinee that fails to control the behavior of the service animal during the examination session will have the examination session terminated. No additional examination time will be added to accommodate controlling the service animal.
4. The use/presence of a service animal does not, in and of itself, justify any additional examination time. The nature of the disability and the necessary accommodation/s for that disability will only be considered with respect to any additional examination time.
5. There are no additional examination fees associated with a service animal accommodation.

Decision and Outcome

The Credentials Committee will evaluate the documentation, and decide which accommodations are in compliance with the ADA. The Credentials Committee will determine if special testing circumstances will be approved. If the Credentials Committee deems it necessary, it may require an independent evaluation of the applicant’s disability. Only accommodations requested during the application process, and approved in advance by ABOMS, will be honored at the test site. No accommodation requests will be considered or approved at the test site. No extensions to an application will be granted because of failure to identify a disability or special need as required in the application materials.

Lactation Policy for OCE Candidates

The American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (ABOMS) will make every effort to provide all appropriate and reasonable efforts to accommodate any requests from Candidates who are currently breastfeeding. For up to one year after the child’s birth, a Candidate can be given special accommodations for breastfeeding.

Candidates must contact the ABOMS administrative office requesting special accommodations to use the testing facility’s lactation rooms at least 90 days before their examination. Upon approval, the candidate may bring her personal breast pump to the testing center.

Procedure

To ensure the lactation policy works efficiently, we require Candidatesto adhere to the following procedure on the day of their examination. Candidates must:

• Check-in at the Candidate hotel with the ABOMS staff.
• Take an earlier bus to the testing facility.
• Be escorted by ABOMS staff to a designated wellness room.
• Utilize the wellness room prior to brief.
• When ready meet with the rest of their session for a Candidate brief.
• Be escorted by ABOMS staff to a designated wellness room following last session.
• Return to the orientation room for Candidate de-briefing.
• Depart from test center.