Certification

To be eligible for the AQH competency examination, a candidate must be a licensed healthcare practitioner who evaluates and manages headache patients independently, including physicians (M.D. and D.O.), physicians assistants, advance practice nurses, dentists, and clinical psychologists. The candidate’s license must be in good standing.

Each candidate must provide documentation of the following criteria regarding license, continuing education, and experience:

• License: The candidate’s license must be in good standing.
• Continuing Education: Completion of at least 20 hours, over the last year, of continuing education focusing on headache medicine.
  Experience: Meet one of the following options:

1. At least one or more years of experience at a headache clinic or Veterans Affairs (VA) Headache Center of Excellence (HCoE), subject to review by NHF’s AQH Oversight Committee, or
2. At least three years of experience managing headache medicine in other clinical settings, or
3. A professional who has completed an accredited Neurology residency (MD or DO), or
4. A professional who has successfully completed a headache fellowship, as approved by the NHF’s AQH Oversight Committee.

For more information, please contact Susan Stone at [email protected]

All fees for the examination are in U.S. dollars.

Provided the early postmark deadline is met, the examination fees are:

• Under Review. Please stay tuned.

Maintenance of your Certification Certificates of Added Qualification in Headache Medicine are valid for five years after receipt. To maintain the certification, the health care provider has two options:

• Submit documentation of 60 hours of headache-related educational units through a curriculum accredited through ACCME or an equivalent nursing CEU accreditation body. The CME/CEU credits may be accumulated over a five-year span.

OR

• Reexamination at the end of the five years.

Certification Awards

• A sample announcement and support materials will be provided by the NHF to assist you in alerting your local media outlets, professional societies, and payors that you have received the credential.
• Please submit a high-resolution headshot for us to distribute with a press release.
• The announcement of AQH recipients will be included in NHF communications.