Societies

Welcome to ABIM's page for medical societies. Here you will find information about how your society can help your members maintain their Certification. You also will learn how ABIM and medical societies are working together to provide relevant options for physicians to update and maintain their knowledge and performance in practice – and improve patient care.

• Ways to Help Your Members Get Maintenance of Certification Credit
• How Your Society's Self-Assessment Products Can Get Approved for the Program
• Maintenance of Certification Learning Session Program Guidelines
• Medical Society Products Approved for Use in ABIM Maintenance of Certification

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Ways to Help Your Members Get Maintenance of Certification Credit

• Submit your self-assessment products to ABIM for approval for Maintenance of Certification credit
• Plan and facilitate a Maintenance of Certification Learning Session at your next meeting
• Organize a Group Practice Improvement Module for your members
• If you've collected physician performance data, let your physicians know they could be eligible for credit through ABIM's Self-Directed Practice Improvement Module

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How Your Society's Self-Assessment Products Can Get Approved for the Program

One way ABIM is working with medical societies is to reduce professional redundancy of requirements. You may submit self-assessment of medical knowledge modules to ABIM for use in our Maintenance of Certification program. Together, we can create more options for physicians to maintain their certificates and receive CME credit through the granting society without the burden of multiple requirements.

We encourage you to help us in that endeavor by submitting modules that meet the following criteria to ABIM for approval and credit in the Maintenance of Certification program:

• The product provides a learning and self-assessment activity relevant to practice in the given Certification area.
• The product provides science-based, unbiased content.
  • Appropriately broad content, proportional to Maintenance of Certification points allowed (10 points per 25 multiple choice questions, with minimum of 25 multiple choice questions)
  • Meets ACCME standards for commercial support of CME products
  • Has not been co-developed with a commercial entity
• The development/maintenance process incorporates adequate expert peer review.
  • Pretesting* (recommended) (*tested on prospective subscribers to evaluate self-assessment component quality)
  • At least 4–5 board-http://www.abim.org/ ABIMcertified content experts review self-assessment component
  • Adherence to ABIM question-writing guidelines (recommended)
  • Use of performance statistics to guide question revision/replacement (recommended: guideline for difficulty .40–.89 and for discrimination .15 and above)
  • Updating and 60% replacement every three years (recommended)
• The product provides appropriate performance feedback.
  • If pass/fail score included, ABIM must approve.
• The product encourages use of the educational resources available in practice.
• The sponsoring organizations provide objective evidence of successful completion by diplomates.
• Access provided to all ABIM diplomates regardless of professional membership status.
• Copyrighted materials.

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Maintenance of Certification Learning Session Program Guidelines

Organizations can foster collaborative approaches to ABIM's Maintenance of Certification program by using ABIM's Medical Knowledge Modules as learning session materials. The primary purpose of a Maintenance of Certification Learning Session is to facilitate completion of medical knowledge modules by ABIM-certified physicians for Maintenance of Certification credit in an interactive group setting with educational support. At the Learning Session, participants will work together on one or more medical knowledge modules in an appropriate educational setting and format determined by the organization.

Guidelines for Hosting a Maintenance of Certification Learning Session

• Your organization may choose any available medical knowledge module for use in a Learning Session.
• Your organization may wish to designate one or more ABIM-certified faculty who will provide participants with substantive educational content based on the knowledge module question topics.
• The setting, format and number of participants for the Learning Session will be determined by your organization; however, ABIM recommends that the Learning Session for each medical knowledge module be at least two hours in duration for each 30 questions.
• Recording answers by an electronic audience response system is very popular with participants, and its use is recommended if feasible for the organization.
• Ninety (90) days prior to the Learning Session, ABIM will provide your organization with the following materials needed to plan and facilitate the Learning Session:
  • Signed copy of License Agreement
  • Invoice for fee for each medical knowledge module ordered
  • A CD-ROM that includes:
    • A PDF version of the designated medical knowledge module(s) for printing copies to distribute to participants
    • A PowerPoint version of the medical knowledge module(s) (by request indicated on the order form)
      Note: Additional CDs may be sent upon request
  • Facilitator Instructions
  • Learning Session Facilitator Feedback form to provide ABIM with salient issues raised about the Learning Session and medical knowledge modules
  • Participant Information that includes how to order and submit answers to ABIM for scoring and Maintenance of Certification credit
  • Frequently Asked Questions about ABIM's Maintenance of Certification program
  • Template announcement for your organization's use in promoting the Learning Session

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Medical Society Products Approved for Use in ABIM Maintenance of Certification

• American Board of Allergy and Immunology (ABAI), Recent Advances 2005 Module
• American College of Cardiology (ACC), ACCSAP-6 Practice Exam
• American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), two separate online modules in Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Disease
• American College of Gastroenterology (ACG), Self-Assessment Program for Maintenance of Certification, ACG-SAP-MOC
• American College of Physicians (ACP), Maintenance of Certification Modules. (Questions are derived from MKSAP 13 and 14)
• American College of Rheumatology (ACR), Continuing Assessment, Review, and Evaluation (CARE) Program 2006 and CARE Program 2007
• American Geriatrics Society (AGS), Geriatric Review Syllabus (GRS), 6th Edition
• American Society of Hematology (ASH), Self-Assessment Program with Maintenance of Certification, ASH-SAP/MOC, 3rd edition
• American Society of Nephrology (ASN), Self-Assessment Program, NephSAP

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