Please visit our "Prepare for an Assessment" page for updated health and safety guidelines.
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The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), which supports its member state medical licensing boards, has recently issued a statement saying that providing misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine contradicts physicians' ethical and professional responsibilities, and therefore may subject a physician to disciplinary actions, including suspension or revocation of their medical license. We at the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM), the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) support FSMB's position. We also want all physicians certified by our boards to know that such unethical or unprofessional conduct may prompt their respective board to take action that could put their certification at risk.
Expertise matters, and board certified physicians have demonstrated that they have stayed current in their field. Spreading misinformation or falsehoods to the public during a time of a public health emergency goes against everything our boards and our community of board certified physicians stand for. The evidence that we have safe, effective and widely available vaccines against COVID-19 is overwhelming. We are particularly concerned about physicians who use their authority to denigrate vaccination at a time when vaccines continue to demonstrate excellent effectiveness against severe illness, hospitalization and death.
We all look to board certified physicians to provide outstanding care and guidance; providing misinformation about a lethal disease is unethical, unprofessional and dangerous. In times of medical emergency, the community of expert physicians committed to science and evidence collectively shares a responsibility for giving the public the most accurate and timely health information available, so they can make decisions that work best for themselves and their families.
Warren Newton, MD, MPH
President and CEO
American Board of Family Medicine
Richard J. Baron, MD
President and CEO
American Board of Internal Medicine
David G. Nichols, MD, MBA
President and CEO
American Board of Pediatrics
ABIM is continuing to work with Pearson VUE to ensure your safety on exam day. Please note that Pearson VUE’s website contains the latest updates to their face mask policies. Learn more about what to expect at test centers by reading our health and safety FAQs.
As the US makes steady progress in the battle against COVID-19, we watch in horror as our colleagues and friends in India struggle with an unimaginable situation. We understand the pain and concern this is causing, and want you to know we stand with you. It is gut wrenching to listen to the stories told by our colleagues in India. These physicians on the frontlines are managing volumes of patients that we cannot fathom. Many of our colleagues in the US attended medical school with these same heroic doctors who are now treating our family members.
ABIM and the ABIM Foundation have donated to GiveIndia, to help fund much-needed oxygen infrastructure (concentrators and cylinders) to hospitals and medical facilities in India.
This is a time of uncertainty for physicians who are in India, unable to return to the US because of a travel ban. We are reaching out to program directors concerned for their trainees in India, and are working to find solutions where possible. Our team is monitoring test centers in India for closures, and have reached out to diplomates in the country who are scheduled to take an exam this year.
We also want to remind you that all MOC requirement deadlines have been extended until 12/31/22 to allow all board certified physicians to focus on their patients and themselves during this very difficult time.
Please know that ABIM is here if you have questions or need help, and can be reached at 1-800-441-ABIM or request@abim.org.
ABIM’s Board of Directors is a diverse set of clinicians practicing in a variety of settings, and just like you, has experienced directly the unprecedented clinical demands posed by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. We know internists and internal medicine subspecialists have been on the front lines meeting the country’s needs, many experiencing the tragedy of COVID in deeply personal ways. In recognition of the disruption and urgent clinical responsibilities our colleagues have lived through, ABIM is extending deadlines for all Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements to 12/31/22.
This means that no one will lose certification if they aren’t able to complete any MOC requirement this year. You and your well-being were the most important factors in this decision.
Knowing that the effects of the pandemic have not been evenly distributed and that some of you may elect to take an exam in 2021, ABIM will continue to offer all exams this year as scheduled. You can find more details on our website and via a link at the bottom of this email.
In January, 2022 ABIM will launch a new longitudinal knowledge assessment, a more flexible and convenient way to maintain your certification. Physicians who decide to delay their 2021 assessment will be able to enroll in the longitudinal assessment when it rolls out (pending availability), or can choose to take the traditional, 10-year MOC exam if they prefer. In certain cardiology disciplines the Collaborative Maintenance Pathway will remain an option.
The pandemic is a once-in-a-century event, and when we announced an extension of MOC requirements last year we all hoped it would be over by now. But even as we’ve collectively made significant progress toward that end, the fact remains it will still be some time until we are on the other side of this.
We know and understand the demands that have been placed on you, your practice, and your life. While you’ve been keeping up with the rapidly emerging science and evidence on how to treat COVID-19, you may not have had the time to adequately prepare for an ABIM assessment the way you would in a normal year. We also recognize the high levels of stress you may have faced over the last 12 months, and that it will likely be some time until it subsides. We hope this gives you one less thing to worry about.
We are in the process of updating the ABIM Physician Portal to reflect these changes, and if you have any questions about your requirements, we encourage you to call us at 1-800-441-ABIM or email request@abim.org. We will continue to keep you informed via email and on abim.org about important program updates.
No matter what you decide to do this year, we speak for our entire Board as we thank you for all you do for your patients as an expert board certified physician. Stay safe.
Marianne M. Green, MD |
Richard J. Baron, MD |
In light of the impact the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to have on physicians, ABIM’s Board of Directors has decided to extend the deadline for all MOC requirements – including points, assessments and attestations – through the end of 2022. We will be communicating this information broadly to all board certified physicians the week of 3/8 via email.
During the week of 3/1, ABIM has prioritized getting this information to physicians who are scheduled to take the Cardiology, Gastroenterology or Rheumatology Knowledge Check-Ins (KCI) on 3/5 and 3/6 in order to give those physicians the opportunity to immediately make the decisions that work best for them.
As these physicians may need help with understanding their options, as well as technical support on the KCI testing days, we are asking for physicians in all other specialties who are not facing imminent deadlines to hold off on contacting us during the week of 3/1 - 3/6 so that we are available to those physicians who face time-sensitive demands.
Please be on the lookout for an email from ABIM early the week of 3/8 with more information about the Board’s decision and what it means for you.
To bolster public confidence in getting vaccinated for COVID-19, ABIM is calling on all board certified physicians to not only get the vaccine themselves, but to post selfies while they are getting it to build patient trust.
As a board certified physician, the decisions you make about being immunized will have an impact on the decisions made by your patients, your families, and your colleagues.
Learn more about how to get involved on ABIM’s blog.
Due to recent increases in COVID-19 cases in our area, the City of Philadelphia has issued a stay-at-home order with which ABIM headquarters must comply. With our staff members working remotely in compliance with local and state guidelines, paper certificate printing and mailing is unavailable at this time.
We know physicians take great pride in their ABIM Board Certification. While we aren’t able to produce paper certificates right now, we do encourage physicians to check out the digital badges ABIM rolled out last year. You can download your badge from your Physician Portal and add it to your email signature or web pages to promote your ABIM Board Certification. We also provide resources, such as social media images, infographics and templates for a press release and newsletter article, to promote your certification to your peers, patients and community.
Two ways to verify credentials through your Profile on the Physician Portal.
Download a digital badge
Add it to your website, social media or email signature.
Download a verified letter.
Share it with your employer or keep it for your own records.
Please note: if asked, you do not need your paper certificate to prove your ABIM Board Certification. ABIM’s website serves as the primary source verification for credentialists.
We are actively monitoring the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and at this time, we are still planning to open registration for 2021 assessments on December 1, 2020 and administer all assessments as scheduled.
We will continue to update this page and any changes specific to your certification and requirements will be communicated via email. To ensure we’re able to and we will update you if anything changes. If you haven’t already, please confirm we have your most up to date contact information.
ABIM is offering additional test dates on 12/14/20 and 12/15/20 for physicians registered to take a subspecialty certification exam.
Before heading to your appointment, please read more about what Pearson VUE is doing to ensure the safety of test takers.
ABIM is offering additional test dates on 12/14/20 and 12/15/20 for physicians registered to take the Internal Medicine Certification Exam this year.
Before heading to your appointment, please read more about what Pearson VUE is doing to ensure the safety of test takers.
ABIM is working with Pearson VUE to ensure your safety throughout your exam day. Learn more about what to expect at test centers by reading our updated FAQs.
To be admitted to the test center, Pearson VUE may ask if you live with or have had close contact with someone who has confirmed or suspected COVID-19. We recognize many physicians are on the front lines treating patients during the pandemic, and in doing so may have come in close contact with someone who has confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Rest assured that physicians (medical/healthcare professionals) who treat patients while both are wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) will be admitted to the test center.
If you experience any issues being admitted to the test center on exam day, please call us at 1-800-441-ABIM (2246).
Earlier today, some physicians received an automated email from ABIM reminding them to schedule their exam appointment. Our sincere apologies for any confusion that may have caused.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted our lives in many ways. Unfortunately, capacity has decreased at all Pearson VUE test centers to maintain safety. As such, some appointments to take the Internal Medicine Certification Examination have been canceled and must be rescheduled.
If this applies to you, you should also receive this email, which clarifies important questions around why your appointment has been canceled and what your next steps are. If your exam is still scheduled in your Physician Portal, you have not been impacted.
If you need help or have any questions, please contact us at 1-800-441-ABIM (2246), Mon. - Fri., 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET or at request@abim.org, and we’ll provide you with personalized assistance to walk through your options.
The unpredictability of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with wide variability in new cases across the country, has challenged us all like never before. As physicians prepare to take an ABIM assessment in the coming months, we wanted to let you know what we are doing to minimize disruptions:
- ABIM staff communicate daily with testing vendor Pearson VUE to ensure information is up-to-date and test center appointments are at the maximum capacity allowed by state and local social distancing guidelines
- Social distancing protocols reducing the number of available seats have already been applied to the majority of test center locations to minimize last-minute cancellations
- Pearson VUE will continue to actively monitor individual state and local government guidelines to ensure maximum test center capacity while keeping safety at the forefront
The health and well-being of the physicians we serve is paramount, and we are working hard to ensure all physicians are able to sit for an exam as scheduled. But despite our best efforts the uncertainty created by the evolving COVID-19 pandemic makes it difficult to forecast Pearson VUE test center availability far in advance.
We encourage you to check your email often in case any changes affect the availability of Pearson VUE testing seats in your area. Even with our best planning efforts it is possible that real-time changes in social distancing guidelines could impact your appointment. ABIM staff are always here at 1-800-441-ABIM and request@abim.org to answer your questions and provide personal support with your options. Thank you for all you are doing for your patients and communities during this time.
ABIM is working with Pearson VUE to ensure your safety throughout your exam day. Learn more about what to expect at test centers.
Today, ABIM announced waived late registration fees for the Fall 2020 subspecialty certification examinations through June 28, 2020 to give candidates greater flexibility during this challenging time. We’d also like to take the opportunity to remind you of the following:
- We encourage you to register for your exam, even if you are not sure you will be able to test this fall.
- We will announce future dates within the 20/21 academic year as soon as we get them from our testing vendor, Pearson VUE.
- We understand the future dates may not work for you either so you will be able to request a full refund through November 30, 2020.
- No proof or documentation is needed if you schedule for a future date.
If you have any questions, please contact us at request@abim.org.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, ABIM headquarters must comply with the City of Philadelphia’s stay-at-home order. As our staff members are working remotely in compliance with local and state guidelines, paper certificate printing and mailing is unavailable at this time.
We know physicians take great pride in their ABIM Board Certification. While we aren’t able to produce paper certificates right now, we do encourage physicians to check out the digital badges ABIM rolled out last year. You can download your badge from your Physician Portal and add it to your social media profiles, email signature or web pages to promote your ABIM Board Certification.
Please note: if asked, you do not need your paper certificate to prove your ABIM Board Certification. ABIM’s website serves as the primary source verification for credentialists.
We know how much your patients and communities are depending on their primary care providers as we respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. How is this impacting your practice?
The Larry Green Center, in partnership with the Primary Care Collaborative, wants to know so they can advocate on your behalf for real policy change. If you have three minutes to spare, please answer their quick clinician survey that aims to better understand the response and capacity of US primary care practices to COVID-19.
Today, ABIM announced that registration for the summer Internal Medicine certification examination (with no late fees) has been extended through May 15, 2020 to give candidates greater flexibility during this challenging time. We’d also like to take the opportunity to remind you of the following:
- We encourage you to register for your exam for August, even if you are not sure you will take the exam at that time.
- If you are unable or feel unprepared to test in August, ABIM will offer future dates so you can take it later within the 20/21 academic year.
- We will announce future dates as soon as we get them from our testing vendor, Pearson VUE. You will have to register by May 15, 2020 to schedule a future exam date.
- We understand the future dates may not work for you either so you will be able to request a full refund through November 30, 2020.
- No proof or documentation is needed if you schedule for a future date.
If you have any questions, please contact us at request@abim.org.
Expert internists and subspecialists are on the front line of the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Recognizing the unprecedented demands being placed on all of our board certified physicians, ABIM wants to be sure you are able to maintain your certification despite the stresses you are facing.
That’s why today I am sharing an important update with you: No one will lose certification if they aren’t able to complete a requirement this year.
Any physician who is currently certified and has a Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirement due in 2020—including an assessment, point requirement or attestation—will now have until the end of 2021 to complete it. Physicians currently in their grace year will also be afforded an additional grace year in 2021.
We recognize that each of you faces a different situation, and many of you have been planning to take assessments in the fall. As of now, all fall 2020 MOC assessments will be offered as planned, so you can still take an exam this year if you’d like. We will send information later this spring about additional assessment dates in 2020 and 2021, and how to select one.
We are sending this message now so you can focus your time and attention where it is needed most: caring for your patients and your community.
The next few weeks and months will challenge our health care system and country like never before. Our many internal medicine colleagues—and the clinical teams that support them—have been heroic in their response, often selflessly putting their own personal safety at risk while using their superb skills to provide care for others. They have inspired all of us.
On behalf of ABIM, I want to personally thank you for all that you are doing for your patients during this time. If you are in a hotspot and treating patients suffering from COVID-19, my heart and my admiration go out to you. You are, every day, demonstrating the best of our profession. During this trying time please know the entire internal medicine community stands behind you and is here to support you however we can. Please stay safe.
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Experiencing PPE shortage? If you're seeking personal protective equipment, fill out #GetUsPPE's provider request form so a team of volunteers can match you to the GetUsPPE donor network. |
As part of our support for the internal medicine community, the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation have each contributed funds to #GetUsPPE that facilitate the delivery of more than 50,000 pieces of personal protective equipment (PPE) to frontline physicians. This grassroots movement founded by emergency physicians is the largest coalition of PPE donor projects ensuring as many medical professionals as possible have the equipment they need to protect themselves and their patients. We’re all trying to find ways we can help, no matter how big or small. If you or your organization are looking for ways to get involved, check out #GetUsPPE’s website.
We wanted you to know that, as of April 6, 2020, we are still planning to administer the Summer Internal Medicine Initial Certification Examination in August 2020.
Registration will remain open through April 28, 2020 and—to give you greater flexibility during this challenging time—no late fee will be applied from April 16-28, 2020 (the previously published late registration window). No one will be able to register after April 28, 2020.
As this is an evolving situation, we understand COVID-19 may impact your ability to prepare for or take the exam in August. We encourage you to register and schedule your exam for August, even if you are not sure you will take the exam at that time, as that will give you maximum flexibility in selecting a future date that works for you. If you are unable to test in August, ABIM will offer additional testing dates so you can take it later. If you have questions in the meantime, please contact us at request@abim.org.
New information is coming in every day about COVID-19, and we know you are following the latest developments in order to best serve your patients during this unprecedented time. We wanted to let you know that ACCME’s CMEfinder.org is a great resource for COVID-19 learning activities – many of which also earn MOC points.
ABIM and ACCME are committed to working with medical specialty societies to ensure their virtual educational offerings that earn CME also count for MOC points. Working together, we believe we can collectively identify ways to provide greater flexibility and options for physicians. We are hopeful this effort will allow you to focus on what’s most important: caring for patients in need.
ABIM recently announced that all spring 2020 MOC assessment administrations are cancelled. Pearson VUE – ABIM’s exam delivery provider – has also independently announced that they will close their U.S. and Canada-based Pearson VUE-owned test centers for at least 30 days.
From Pearson VUE:
“Due to increasing concern for the health and safety of our candidates and our employees and in response to government guidance and difficulty procuring the critical hygienic products that keep our test centers safe, we are temporarily closing our U.S.- and Canada-based Pearson VUE-owned test centers starting Tuesday, March 17.”
ABIM recognizes that, as frontline health care professionals, many board certified internists will experience significant personal and professional stress and disruption during the coming weeks. Your expertise, skill and service are critical to our collective success in dealing with this pandemic, and your safety and wellbeing are ABIM’s primary concern at this time.
In light of this evolving situation, ABIM’s Board of Directors has decided to cancel all spring assessments.
We did not come to this decision lightly, as we know that many of you have likely spent weeks or months preparing. Despite that knowledge, we believe that removing the potential risk and distraction of sitting for a spring assessment is the right thing to do for our ABIM Board Certified Physicians and for the country at this time of great uncertainty for our health care system and the patients we care for.
You will be able to reschedule your exam at no additional cost. Please know that no physician will have their certification status negatively impacted because of this decision. Physicians scheduled to take a spring assessment have been contacted via email alerting them of this change, and we are providing them with individualized guidance on their options moving forward.
Reschedule your exam by signing in to your ABIM Physician Portal. If you need any assistance, please contact us at 1-800-441-ABIM or request@abim.org.
Thank you for your understanding as we continue to assess this situation and do what’s best for the physicians we serve. Please stay safe. Our country needs you.
Both ABIM and the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) have notified Program Directors and Designated Institutional Officials (DOIs) that we do not anticipate interruptions of training related to COVID-19 adversely affecting Board Eligibility for the vast majority of otherwise competent residents and fellows. In particular, ABIM’s recently clarified Leave of Absence and Deficits in Required Training Time policies are in full effect and applicable to absences that might occur due to COVID-19.
We all recognize that this is a challenging time in medicine, and ABIM is prepared to support physicians as you deal through the uncertainty around the spread of COVID-19. This is a rapidly evolving situation, and we know that your personal circumstances may change with little advance notice. For any physician that is unable to take an ABIM assessment due to the spread of COVID-19, please contact us at 1-800-441-ABIM or request@abim.org, and one of our Customer Relationship Advocates will walk you through your options so you can decide what works best for you.
If any assessment dates or locations are changed, ABIM will send you an email as soon as possible, along with guidance on your next steps. Pearson VUE has also provided guidance on their website regarding additional precautionary hygienic measures, including the availability of hand sanitizer and increased cleaning and disinfecting regimens in between all testing appointments.
Most importantly, do not put this exam over your health or potentially putting others at risk. If you are exhibiting symptoms such as a fever and/or respiratory difficulties, reschedule your testing appointment.
More than ever, patients and the public are in need of reliable information they can trust. The expertise and professionalism you demonstrate through your certification helps give patients confidence in the care you provide, and I appreciate all you are doing in and for your communities to help all of us navigate this difficult time.