The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene initiative to stimulate educational programs to enhance medical expertise in tropical diseases

More than a decade ago, at a time when current and emerging tropical diseas es posed growing threats to the United States, expert panels convened by th e Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences concluded that medical expertise within the United States competent to address diseas es of the tropics had declined. Recognizing a national need to encourage an d enhance such, The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene devel oped a program to stimulate new postgraduate medical education in diseases of the tropics. The Society formally requested academic institutions within the United States and Canada to propose new postgraduate programs. To assu re the quality of these new curricular offerings, the Society developed an outline of key areas of competency and agreed to offer an examination that would grant physicians a Certificate of Knowledge in Clinical Tropical Medi cine and Travelers Health. The certifying examination was to be an integral component of a program to stimulate academic institutions to provide instr uctional programs in tropical diseases and to encourage physicians to becom e trained, evaluated, and recognized for their knowledge of clinical tropic al diseases and travelers' health. The Society's initiative to stimulate ed ucational programs in tropical medicine is reviewed.