Making MOC Quality Improvement Participation Meaningful.

Abstract

* Abbreviations: ACGME — : Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education MOC — : Maintenance of Certification QI — : quality improvement Maintenance of Certification (MOC) is intended to ensure the lifelong learning and continued competence of board-certified physicians. The American Board of Pediatrics aligned the MOC process with the core competencies set forth by the American Board of Medical Specialties and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).1 The 4 components of MOC, MOC parts I to IV, require that physicians demonstrate (I) good professional standing, (II) lifelong learning and self-assessment, (III) cognitive expertise, and (IV) participation in improving professional practice or in quality improvement (QI). To obtain part IV credit, pediatricians must demonstrate competence in systematic measurement and improvement by participating in 1 approved QI project or by completing 1 Web-based improvement activity during every 5-year MOC cycle. In this issue of Pediatrics , Freed et al2 evaluated participation in, motivations for, and attitudes toward QI as well as perceived support for QI activities and self-confidence in the QI skills of >8000 pediatricians enrolling in MOC. The authors compared outcomes across different groups of physicians, including generalists and specialists, academic and nonacademic physicians, and those graduating before … Address correspondence to Samir S. Shah, MD, MSCE, Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, ML 9016, Cincinnati, OH 45229. E-mail: samir.shah{at}cchmc.org