The WASM sleep board examination is administered in association of the sleep societies of the region where the exam is administered. An example of the WASM examination diploma can be seen on our web-page.

Candidates:

Eligibility criteria for taking the WASM sleep board examination are determined jointly between the local societies sponsoring the exam and the WASM examination committee. The WASM website provides information about expertise level that can be used for guidance. Individuals wishing to sit for the examination must provide their credentials to the local regional committee co-sponsoring the exam in conjunction with the WASM examination committee. These credentials should be presented for review 3-months (or more) prior to the examination date.

Exam Location:

The location of each upcoming scheduled exam is listed on the WASM web-page. Exam sites will be listed at least 4 months before each administration. In addition to its posting on the web page, the exam’s exact address, date, and time will be sent by email to all individuals applying. If unforeseen major problems occur (for example, natural disasters, transportation strikes from and to location of exam, or local civil unrest), the exam will be postponed, the postponement will be announced on the WASM web site, and every effort to send this information to each candidate by e-mail.

Exam Description and Content:

The exam contains all multiple choice questions (example of questions are provided on the web-page). The exam includes 3 booklets covering basic science, clinical science and clinical disorders related to sleep and its pathology. Usually the total time for the exam will be a half day. There will be a proctor from the WASM examination committee at the site of the exam; proctors from the host regional society will also be available. On the day of the exam candidates will be provided pencils to mark their test booklets.

Examination Process and Grading:

All other materials (for example, bags, briefcases, backpacks, books, cell-phones, etc.) are not allowed in the examination room. All such items must be put in secure containers before entering the examination room and will be retrieved upon exit. All copies of the exam will be collected by the WASM proctor in presence of a representative of the regional host sleep society. They will be placed in an envelope that will be immediately sealed with signatures of the 2 individuals responsible for the collection of the exam. Any candidate, that so desires, may witness the envelope sealing. The sealed envelope will be sent by courier to WASM headquarter in the USA to the attention of the Administrative director of WASM (Allan O’Brien, at this time). The first page of the exam will have name, address, e-mail, and coded identification number specific for each candidate.  This identification code will be present on each page of the examination. The coded identification page will be separated from the body of the exam so that grading can be conducted blind to the candidate’s identity. Members of the examination committee in charge of scoring the exam will only receive copies identified by the random number.

The exam committee will have a maximum of two months to score each copy.  The exam committee will also statistically weight each question and based on this analysis may decide to nullify a question. Anonymous results of the exam will be provided to the executive committee of WASM that will approve the exam grades.

Results of the exam committee will be provided to the administrative director that will match the candidate-anonymous number to the identifying information. Each candidate will then be personally contacted by the administrative director of WASM by e-mail and by air-mail concerning their results. Such contact will be within 3 months following the examination. Candidates meeting or exceeding the passing criteria will receive a WASM diploma by mail. The pass –cut-off point is set at 70% of valid responses. WASM will publish the names of the WASM sleep medicine specialists.

Appeal Process:

Any candidate may appeal the final pass/fail decision by sending an air-mail certified letter to the administrative director located at the WASM headquarters. The appeal will be reviewed by the executive committee with ad-hoc reviewers selected by the executive committee. A response will be provided within two months by certified mail to the candidate. No further appeal will be considered.

Application:

Click here to download the application. 

Certificate:

Click here to view a sample of the certification.