American Board Of Medical Specialties Research Articles

The American Board of Pathology's Maintenance of Certification Program Update

The American Board of Pathology (ABP) began issuing time-limited certificates in 2006. New diplomates of the ABP are required to participate in the ABP's Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program to maintain certification. Voluntary participation in the MOC program is also available to diplomates with non-time-limited certificates. To update the pathology community on the requirements of the ABP's MOC program and some current MOC policies and to demonstrate the value of MOC participation for both time-limited and non-time-limited certificate holders. This review uses ABP-archived minutes of the MOC Committee, the ABP MOC Booklet of Information, the ABP Pathway system reports, and the collective experiences of the ABP trustees and staff. The ABP's MOC program has active participation by almost 5000 diplomates of the ABP. The ABP, in conjunction with the American Board of Medical Specialties, continually strives to enhance the relevance and value of MOC to our diplomates and to the public.

Teaching Ethics and Professionalism in Plastic Surgery

Maintenance of the highest ethical and professional standards in plastic surgery is in the best interests of our profession and the public whom we serve. Both the American Board of Medical Specialties and the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education mandate training in ethics and professionalism for all residents. Presently there is no gold standard in ethics and professionalism education. A systematic review on teaching ethics and professionalism in plastic surgery was performed for all articles from inception to May 23, 2013 in MEDLINE, Scopus, EMBASE, CENTRAL, and ERIC. References of relevant publications were searched for additional papers. Key journals were hand searched and relevant conference proceedings were also reviewed. Duplicate and non-English articles were excluded. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to find articles that described a curriculum in ethics and/or professionalism in plastic surgery. Two hundred twenty-seven relevant articles were identified. One hundred seventy-four did not meet inclusion criteria based on screening of the title, and 39 of those did not meet inclusion criteria based on screening of the abstract or introductory paragraph. Of the 14 identified for full text review, only 2 articles described a set curriculum in ethics and/or professionalism in plastic surgery training and reported outcomes. A paucity of data exists regarding the structure, content, or relevant measures that can be applied to assess outcomes of a curriculum to teach ethics and professionalism to plastic surgery trainees. Endeavors to teach ethics and professionalism to plastic surgery trainees must rigorously document the process and outcomes to facilitate the maintenance of our profession.

Maintenance of Certification and Pediatrics Milestones–Based Assessment: An Opportunity for Quality Improvement Through Lifelong Assessment

Maintenance of Certification and Pediatrics Milestones–Based Assessment: An Opportunity for Quality Improvement Through Lifelong Assessment

Educational Milestone Development for Transitional Year Residency Training

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Outcome Project has shifted the focus for accrediting residency training programs from structure and process to documented outcomes. A central part of the ACGME's Next Accreditation System (NAS) is “articulating milestones of competency development in each discipline.”1 Resident achievement of educational Milestones will be an indicator of the educational effectiveness of residency programs. Most specialties have developed their Milestones through a collaborative effort involving representatives from the ACGME, the pertinent American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) organization, the pertinent professional specialty society, and the pertinent program directors' association. In contrast, the approach was quite different for Transitional Year (TY) residency programs, which comprise only 1 year of accredited postgraduate medical education, where there is no corresponding ABMS board certification entity or professional specialty society. In addition, graduates of TY training programs are not expected to demonstrate sufficient competency to enter the independent practice of medicine, as is the case with other specialty (categorical) residency programs.

The Medical Genetics Residency Milestones

Medical genetics has been recognized as a distinct medical specialty by the American Board of Medical Specialties since 1991, and as such, medical genetics residency programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). As a component of the ACGME's Next Accreditation System (NAS), a process was initiated in 2011 to formulate Milestones for medical genetics residents. As with Milestone projects in other accredited specialties, the intent was to provide a system for evaluation of resident performance over the course of training, which also would serve as an indicator of the educational effectiveness of residency programs. The project was initiated at a propitious time in the history of medical genetics, as the discipline is experiencing a period of rapid expansion since the sequencing of the human genome. In 2011, the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) published a document, “Competencies for the Physician Geneticist in the 21st Century,” that was intended to help prepare the medical genetics community for the new era of genomic medicine.1 This document served as a template to guide the efforts of the Medical Genetics Milestone Project.

Pending Structural Modifications for the AJR

Pending Structural Modifications for the AJRThomas H. BerquistAudio Available | Share

Maintenance of certification: How does it affect cytopathologists?

Maintenance of certification: How does it affect cytopathologists?

Engaging with others to improve global medical care through international board certification

This commentary, based on comments made by Lois Margaret Nora, MD, during the Globalization of Medical Education panel at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Medical Colleges, provides information about the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), ABMS, International (ABMS-I), and the ABMS Board Certification process. The ABMS was founded near the beginning of the Twentieth century and has a long history of protecting the public through rigorous standards of physician certification. This article highlights the reasons that ABMS and ABMS-I are engaging with the international community to explore international board certification and provides one current example of such a collaboration.

The Right Ingredients

Docēre, the Latin root for doctor, means to teach. At the heart of what we do as physicians is teaching; we teach our patients, their families, and our future physicians. Why do we devote so much time to education? No matter how well we diagnose and treat, if patients and families do not understand their treatment, it may be unsuccessful. No matter how knowledgeable and skillful we are, if we do not nurture the next generation, key knowledge, skills, and values will disappear. Disciplines Education | Medical Education This journal article is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/gse_pubs/255 The Right Ingredients-Essential If You Want To Bake The Cake Right! Aditee P Ambardekar, MD Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania ambardekara@email.chop.edu Stanton Wortham, PhD Judy & Howard Berkowitz Professor and Associate Dean Graduate School of Education University of Pennsylvania

Women's Health Research in the Last Four Decades

Gerson Weiss speaks to Natasha Leeson, Assistant Commissioning Editor Gerson Weiss obtained his MD degree from New York University (NY, USA). After an internship in internal medicine at Baltimore City Hospital (MD, USA), he completed residency in obstetrics and gynecology at New York University. Further training in reproductive endocrinology was obtained as a postdoctoral research fellow in physiology at the University of Pittsburgh (PA, USA), in the laboratory of Dr Ernst Knobil. Following this fellowship, Dr Weiss returned to New York University where he ultimately became Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Professor of Pharmacology and Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. In 1986, he became Professor and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at New Jersey Medical School (NJ, USA). Dr Weiss is the author of more than 274 scientific articles. His research has been continuously funded since 1975 by grants from the NIH, the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation and the Andrew W Mellon Foundation. He has served as a member of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, a member of the Reproductive Biology Study Section of the NIH, a member of the Residency Review Committee for Obstetrics and Gynecology of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. He has served as the President of the New York Obstetrical Society, the New York Gynecologic Society, the Council of University Chairs of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was the Chairman of the Committee on Gynecologic Practices for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Chairman of American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. He was a member of the Executive Committee of the American Board of Medical Specialties. Dr Weiss is a past President of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation. He currently serves on the NIH's Advisory Committee on Research on Women's Health. Dr Weiss conducts an active clinical practice both in gynecology and reproductive endocrinology and infertility at his institution.

The Accreditation System After the “Next Accreditation System”

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and the American Board of Medical Specialties and its member boards introduced the six domains of physician competency in 1999. This initiated a national dialogue concerning the elements of competency of the physician, and incorporation of these elements into the framework of evaluation of residents and fellows, as well as the educational programs within which they are trained. The next step in this process will be the ACGME's Next Accreditation System, which the authors describe in this commentary. Recognizing that there are already developments in the assessment of medical education that will influence future models of accreditation, the authors consider some of these innovations and discuss how they may shape the next accreditation system after the Next Accreditation System.

Brain Injury Medicine Gains Subspecialty Status

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article Professional NewsFull AccessBrain Injury Medicine Gains Subspecialty StatusKen HausmanKen HausmanSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:6 Dec 2013https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2013.11b29AbstractThe new subspecialty is to focus on prevention of brain injuries and the evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of those who have suffered such injuries.The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) has announced that the first examination to obtain subspecialty certification in brain injury medicine (BIM) will be held October 6, 2014.The new subspecialty was approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties in September 2011, after it evaluated a joint application from the ABPN and the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.According to the ABPN, the BIM subspecialty “will focus on the prevention, evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation of individuals with acquired brain injury. BIM physicians provide a high level of care for patients with brain injury and their families in both the hospital and the post-acute setting, and over the continuum of care to facilitate the process of recovery and improve medical and functional outcomes.”Candidates wanting to achieve this certification through the ABPN must have a certification in psychiatry or neurology by December 31 prior to taking the exam, complete the requisite practice experience or formal training, meet all training requirements (if applying based on training) by July 31 of the year of the examination, and meet all of the ABPN’s medical licensure requirements.A “grandfathering” option will be available from 2014 to 2018 as an alternative to completing one year of fellowship training in brain injury medicine in a program approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). To use this option, applicants can qualify to take the examination in BIM through a “temporary pathway” involving a choice of two options. The first option is “attestation of a minimum of 25% practice time in the United States devoted to brain injury medicine beyond completion of residency training in the primary specialty for a minimum of three years (within the last five years). The practice should be adequately broad to reasonably reflect the full scope of brain injury medicine.”The second option is “successful completion of 12 months of fellowship training in an ACGME- or non-ACGME-accredited brain injury medicine fellowship program affiliated with an ACGME-accredited psychiatry, neurology, or child neurology residency training program. Training must be completed by July 31 of the year of the examination.”Information about BIM certification, including applications and information booklets, is posted at http://www.abpn.com/ifas_bim.html. ISSUES NewArchived

Quality Improvement and Maintenance of Certification

Quality Improvement (QI) is an integral part of the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program. When the ABP addressed the core physician competency of Practice-Based Learning and Improvement approved by the ACGME and American Board of Medical Specialties in 2000, it made a strategic decision to adopt a QI approach rather than attempting to assess individual physician practice performance in a high-stakes manner. Although the ABP does assess medical knowledge and other aspects of professional development at the individual physician level, there are significant barriers to assessing individual physician clinical performance, including issues of attribution, risk adjustment, and small sample sizes.

Clinical Informatics Sub-Specialty Board Certification

Increased funding for health information technology and the advance of electronic health records in hospitals and practices have created the need for a new specialist: the clinical informatician. Clinical informatics was recognized in 2011 as the latest subspecialty in medicine by the American Board of Medical Specialties. This article reviews the need for this new specialty as well as the steps necessary for its creation. The content and training requirements for clinical informatics are discussed as well as eligibility criteria for taking the board examination. Training programs as well as board preparation are addressed along with the expected impact that this new field will have on the practice of medicine.

Clinical Informatics Sub-Specialty Board Certification

Increased funding for health information technology and the advance of electronic health records in hospitals and practices have created the need for a new specialist: the clinical informatician. Clinical informatics was recognized in 2011 as the latest subspecialty in medicine by the American Board of Medical Specialties. This article reviews the need for this new specialty as well as the steps necessary for its creation. The content and training requirements for clinical informatics are discussed as well as eligibility criteria for taking the board examination. Training programs as well as board preparation are addressed along with the expected impact that this new field will have on the practice of medicine.

Development of an EMS Curriculum

Emergency medical services (EMS) became an American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) approved subspecialty of emergency medicine in September 2010. Achieving specialty or subspecialty recognition in an area of medical practice requires a unique body of knowledge, a scientific basis for the practice, a significant number of physicians who dedicate a portion of their practice to the area, and a sufficient number of fellowship programs. To prepare EMS fellows for successful completion of fellowship training, a lifetime of subspecialty practice, and certification examination, a formalized structured fellowship curriculum is necessary. A functional curriculum is one that takes the entire body of knowledge necessary to appropriately practice in the identified area and codifies it into a training blueprint to ensure that all of the items are covered over the prescribed training period. A curriculum can be as detailed as desired but typically all major headings and subheadings of the core content are identified and addressed. Common curricular components, specific to each area of the core content, include goals and objectives, implementation methods, evaluation, and outcomes assessment methods. Implementation methods can include simulation, observations, didactics, and experiential elements. Evaluation and outcomes assessment methods can include direct observation of patient assessment and treatment skills, structured patient simulations, 360° feedback, written and oral testing, and retrospective chart reviews. This paper describes a curriculum that is congruent with the current EMS core content, as well as providing a 12-month format to deploy the curriculum in an EMS fellowship program. Key words: curriculum; education; emergency medical services; fellowships and scholarships

Physician Education in Addiction Medicine

Physician Education in Addiction Medicine

Sleep Disorders in Children

During the past 25 years, development of Pediatric and Adolescent Sleep Medicine (PASM) has become an imperative child health care discipline. During the past decade, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) prepared a modern path for certification in competency in the practice of Sleep Medicine by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) by applying for recognition of sleep medicine training programs by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and pursuing ABMS approval of the certification process.1 In addition, the American Board of Pediatrics (ABPeds) joined together with the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), American Board of Otolaryngology (ABOto), the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN), and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM). ABIM was designated as the administrative board. Accreditation requirements were established for post-graduate fellowship training in sleep medicine in 2004. ABMS approved sleep medicine certification in 2005. The first certification examination in Sleep Medicine was administered in 2007. Medical content areas often overlapped (for example, obstructive sleep apnea, hypersomnolence, sleep-related movement disorders), but only 2% of the examination focused on considerations and disorders unique to childhood.2 None-

Public Health Science Agenda for Congenital Heart Defects: Report From a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Experts Meeting

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are the most common type of birth defect, affecting ≈1% of births per year.[1][1] Although survival has been improving over time, there remain numerous gaps in the understanding of the public health impact of CHDs across the lifespan. Recognizing that there was “a

Licensure Challenges in Preventive Medicine

Preventive medicine is a unique medical specialty recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties that employs a population-based approach to healthcare delivery. Physicians certified in preventive medicine often focus their disease prevention and health promotion efforts at both the individual and population levels. Preventive medicine physicians are uniquely trained in both clinical and population-based medicine and are required to earn a Master of Public Health (MPH) or equivalent degree during residency training.