Last week, the Continuing Board Certification: Vision for the Future Commission submitted its final report to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Board of Directors. The draft reflected many of the issues AGA has raised with ABIM over the years and our comments on the draft report.
Having this report in hand puts AGA in a position of strength as we begin working with ABIM and the other GI societies to explore the development of a new assessment pathway through which gastroenterologists and hepatologists can maintain board certification.
Here’s a link to the full report: https://visioninitiative.org/commission/final-report/
Key wins:
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- Commission recommended the term “Maintenance of Certification” be abandoned.
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- “Emphasis on continuing certification must be focused on the availability of curated information that helps diplomates deliver improved clinical care…traditional infrequent high-stakes assessments no matter how psychometrically valid, is viewed as inappropriate as the future direction for continuing certification.”
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- The Commission believes ABMS Boards need to engage with diplomates on an ongoing basis instead of every two, five or ten years.
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- The ABMS Board must offer an alternative to burdensome highly-secure, point-in-time examinations of knowledge.
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- ABMS & ABMS Boards must facilitate and encourage independent research to build on the existing evidence base about the value of continuing certification.
MOC and AGA’s approach to reform are topics of much discussion on the AGA Community. If you have comments, please join the discussion. Your feedback is helpful as we continue to pressure ABIM for changes.
