Subspecialization in psychiatry: third-generation programs

Psychiatry, unlike internal medicine, was slow to develop subspecialty certification. For many years, child and adolescent psychiatry was the only major subspecialty recognized by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN). The situation changed in the early 1990s with the recognition by the ABPN of additional subspecialties of psychiatry including forensic psychiatry. Using the experience of the American Board of Internal Medicine as a guide, this commentary asks what comes next? What are our options as it becomes clear that there is a deepening of knowledge in the field of forensic psychiatry? Are we ready for, or interested in, the development of so-called third-generation certification programs?