In This Issue

ABMS Conference 2017 Call for Sessions
CertABMS Board Certification Report Features Infographics, Video Highlights

More than 860,000 physicians are board certified;
California, New York, and Texas are the states with the largest number of active physician certificates; and 55 is the average age of a board certified physician. These are just a sampling of facts and statistics found in the latest ABMS Board Certification Report released by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). The 2015-2016 ABMS Board Certification Report highlights a variety of information and data about the specialty certification programs administered by the 24 Member Boards that comprise ABMS. After
downloading the report from the website, be sure to view the video that highlights its findings.
pedsPediatric Hospital Medicine, Addiction Medicine: Newest Subspecialties

Pediatric Hospital Medicine and Addiction Medicine are the two newest subspecialties approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) in the past 18 months.
 
"By offering certification in emergent subspecialties, ABMS continues to meet our mission of assuring patients, their families, and the communities we serve that their physician meets the high standards of practice and clinical knowledge, and has completed an approved educational program," stated ABMS President and Chief Executive Officer Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA.
 
ABMS Member Boards, of which there are 24, certify physicians in 37 specialties and 86 subspecialties. When seeking approval of a new subspecialty certification, certifying boards must demonstrate the value of the new subspecialty to the public as well as evaluate the impact and effect of the proposed subspecialty certificate on its training and practice, and that of other Member Boards. Soliciting public comment is also part of the formal process. The proposed subspecialty must be approved by ABMS' Committee on Certification, Board of Directors, and Reserved Powers Board in that order. The process can take anywhere from six months to one year.
testsMember Boards Explore Innovative Assessment Options
"Just as physicians must keep current with the exponential growth of medical knowledge, certifying Boards must keep current with emerging adult learning theories and technologies."
Once physicians are board certified, their competence is objectively verified through a periodic external assessment issued by their specialty board. Currently, this assessment takes the form of a recertifying examination, which evaluates physicians against an objective, national standard for their specialty, given every six or 10 years. But that will likely change in the coming years as many American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member Boards are exploring innovative alternatives to traditional testing.
 
To date, more than half of the Member Boards are participating in, or planning to participate in, an ABMS-led effort that focuses on longitudinal assessment models. These pilot projects present an opportunity for the Boards to incorporate emerging adult learning theories and technologies into the framework for maintaining certification.
 
Seven of these Boards are utilizing CertLink™, an ABMS web-based platform that leverages smart mobile technology to support the design, delivery, and evaluation of pilot projects.
guestGuest Column: Welcome from Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA, ABMS President and Chief Executive Officer

Welcome to the first issue of ABMS Insights, our e-newsletter designed to connect you with the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member Boards Community.
 
If you are new to us, the Community centers around our 24 certifying boards, also known as Member Boards . Together, the Boards certify physicians in specialty and subspecialty areas as well as support professional development throughout their career. The cumulative effect of our collective work sustains the profession's ability to self-regulate by demonstrating a rigorous and relevant system of ongoing assessment and improvement that assists physicians in their continued professional development, ensuring that physicians provide not just competent health care to their patients, families, and communities, but care of the highest standard.
 
Beyond the core community, ABMS also works in collaboration with its Associate Members to improve medical education across the community, the value of medical practice, and professional self-regulation. You may know one, or many, of our Associate Members by name: the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education , Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education , American Hospital Association , American Medical Association , Association of American Medical Colleges , Council of Medical Specialty Societies , Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates , Federation of State Medical Boards , and National Board of Medical Examiners .
 
In this issue, you will have the opportunity to learn about some of the initiatives and cooperative ways in which the ABMS Member Boards Community works with other professional organizations and agencies to elevate certification standards as well as encourage participation in continuing professional development. It is an insight into the work being done each and every day throughout the Boards Community to further our mission of Higher Standards, Better Care.
VSABMS Visiting Scholars Program Accepting Applications

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Research and Education Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2017-18 Visiting Scholars Program.
 
The one-year, part-time program is designed to help scholars develop their research skills and scholarship by engaging in a research project re­lated to the ABMS Program for Maintenance of Certification (ABMS MOC®). The scholars' research project should build on an existing project at their institution and generate data, tools, and activities that could be useful to specialty boards in the Board Certification and MOC process.
 
In addition to the research project, scholars are exposed to the fields of professional assessment and education, health policy, and quality improvement and are offered the opportunity to develop leadership skills critical to their own professional growth and success. To read about scholars from previous classes, click here .
 
The Visiting Scholars Program is open to junior faculty including assistant professors and instructors, fellows, residents, medical students, public health students, and graduate students and PhDs in health services research and other relevant disciplines. Scholars will be selected and awarded $12,500 each to support their research and travel for this program. The application deadline is May 1, 2017.
wellABMS Joins New Collaborative to Promote Clinician Well-being

American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is part of a new "action collaborative" launched by the National Academy of Medicine to promote clinician well-being and resilience.
 
Established in response to alarming evidence of high rates of depression and suicide among U.S. health care workers, the initiative will identify priorities and collective efforts to advance evidence-based solutions and promote multidisciplinary approaches that will reverse the trends in clinician stress and ultimately improve patient care and outcomes.
 
Clinician burnout has been linked to increased medical errors and patient dissatisfaction. Recent research has shown that declines in the well-being of health care professionals cut across all ages, stages, and career paths - from trainees to experienced practitioners. As many as 400 physicians commit suicide each year, double the suicide rate of the general U.S. population, according to one study. A survey of more than 6,000 physicians conducted during a three-year period found that they have twice the risk of burnout compared with other professions.
callABMS Conference 2017 Call for Sessions
The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) invites you to submit topics for sessions for the ABMS Conference 2017 to be held Sept. 25-27 in Chicago. This multi-track conference merges Board Certification, policy, and quality improvement (QI) initiatives to improve patient care.

Topics may include:
  • Assessment Innovations
  • Meaningful QI
  • Multi-Specialty Portfolio Program
  • Board-Society Collaboration
  • Assessment and Continuing Medical Education Alignment
  • Performance in Practice
  • Policy Landscape
  • Organization Transformation
  • Leadership and Professional Development



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