Accepted Certification Providers

For appointments to the Medical Impairment Rating (MIR) Registry or the Certified Physician Program (CPP) Registry, the Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation requires physicians to be certified in the AMA Guides®, 6th Edition, through an approved vendor. Physicians seeking appointments to either the MIR or CPP Registries must provide proof of certification issued by an approved vendor.

Bureau-Approved Vendors

Certification is obtained by passing a competency test through an approved vendor. Before taking the certification test, physicians may want to prepare for it by taking an AMA Guides®, 6th Edition, training course provided by the test sponsor.

Accepted AMA Guides®, 6th Edition, certification tests for the Certified Physician Program and Medical Impairment Rating Registry are:

CIR (Certified Impairment Rater)

• Sponsored through WorkCompCollege.com
• 6th Edition Only
• Exam Cost: $695
• Register
  

CMLE (Certified Medicolegal Evaluator)

• Sponsored through IAIME (International Academy of Independent Medical Evaluators)
• 6^th Edition Only
• Exam cost: $875

CIME (Certified Independent Medical Examiner)

• Sponsored through ABIME (American Board of Independent Medical Evaluators)
• 6^th Edition Only
• Exam cost: $995

Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation

• Provided by the State of Tennessee.
• 6^th Edition only.
• On site, in-person, Saturday instruction provided free to physician musculoskeletal groups of 10 or more, and for one or more neurologists, psychiatrists, pulmonologists, ophthalmologists, urologists, dermatologists, and otolaryngologists.
• Physicians who seek BWC certification must have already taken the Bureau’s Best Practices for Treating and Evaluating Injured Workers and submitted their CPP application(s).  
• Exam cost: $0
• To schedule, please contact Jay.Blaisdell@tn.gov.

Resources for Exam Preparation

• Certified Impairment Rater (CIR) Training
  • AMA Guides, 6^th Edition, Mastery
  • 1 Year Access: $1,500 ($1,275 with 15% discount for TN Physicians and Chiropractors)*
  • Self-paced, 100% online
• Certified Medicolegal Evaluator (CMLE) Training
  • Self-Study using IAIME Core Competencies Study Guide https://iaime.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/IAIME-Core-Competencies-Study-Guide.pdf
  • AMA Guides, 6^th Edition Online Study Course: https://iaime.org/ama-guides-for-cme/
• Certified Independent Medical Evaluator (CIME) Training
  
  • ABIME weekend conferences with varying costs.

Contact the CPP Coordinator to learn about special discounts for Tennessee Physicians.