American Board of Medical Specialties is incorporated in the State of Illinois as a not-for-profit corporation by the Internal Revenue Service under Section 501(c)(6) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

The individual organizations comprising the membership of ABMS are classified as either Regular Members, often referred to as Member Boards, or Associate Members. The Regular Members include 23 Primary Boards and one Conjoint Board. The Associate Members consist of nine national organizations concerned with graduate medical education and specialty practice, but they are not specialty boards. Each Member Board and Associate Member Board pays annual dues and has voting rights.

There are also three Public Members elected by the Board of Directors who may vote and serve on committees but do not pay dues or hold office.

Officers of the ABMS Board of Directors

The officers consist of the President and CEO of ABMS, the Chair, Chair Elect and the Secretary-Treasurer.

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors consists of the Officers and Representatives from each Member Board. It manages and governs the affairs of ABMS and determines compliance with ABMS' stated mission.

Public Members

To provide advice on decisions affecting the public, the Board of Directors elects three Public Members, having relevant experience, but with no direct relationship to any certifying board or the certification process. Each Public Member has one vote.

Assembly

The Assembly is the final decision-making authority of ABMS and is composed of the voting representatives of all Regular Members, Associate Members and Public Members. All the members of the Board of Directors are ex-officio members of the Assembly and are without vote. The Chair is presiding officer over all meetings of the Assembly and the Secretary is responsible for giving notice of all meetings and recording all actions taken by the Assembly.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Committees of the Board include:

• Executive Committee is composed of the President and CEO, Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary-Treasurer, two at-large directors and one public member
• Committee on Certification, Subcertification and Maintenance of Certification (COCERT) develops and proposes principles of certification and subcertification. The committee reviews all MOC applications and makes recommendations about acceptance to the governing bodies of ABMS, Board of Directors and the Assembly.
  
  
• Committee on Oversight and Monitoring of Maintenance of Certification (COMMOC) receives and reviews reports from each Member Board about its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program and verifies compliance with the standards and policies for MOC adopted by the Board of Directors. The committee also provides recommendations and guidance to the Member Boards with regard to program development and implementation.
  
  
• Committee on Research and Evaluation Procedures (COREP) supports development of the evidence based needed for other committees to develop and propose principles of evaluation for certification, subcertification and Maintenance of Certification. The committee identifies and encourages research to improve the capacity to measure, assess and evaluate the educational, scientific, clinical and professional qualifications and performance of physicians engaged in the practice of medical specialties.
• Database and Information Technology Advisory Committee (DITAC) develops, reviews and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors and the Assembly guidelines, protocols, programs, criteria and standards for the creation and maintenance of a current centralized ABMS database which contains information on the diplomates of the Member Boards.
• Finance and Audit Committee (FINCO) concerns itself with monitoring the financial integrity of ABMS including investment and management of ABMS funds.
• Governance Committee monitors the ongoing fiduciary obligations of the organization and its affiliates.
• Maintenance of Certification Committee (MOC Committee) provides recommendations on all related MOC policy to the ABMS Board of Directors, including but not limited to: 1) methods for evaluating the overall effectiveness of MOC 2) changes to the standards and policies of MOC; 3) standards and methods for evaluating diplomates against the general competencies; 4 requirements for diplomates who are retired or clinically inactive to return to active clinical practice; 5) new program initiatives 6) design and implementation strategies.
• Ethics and Professionalism Committee recommends policies, procedures and methods for promoting the principles of ethical and professional behavior for practicing physicians certified by the ABMS Member Boards. This includes fostering the development and maintenance of a national curriculum on professionalism, and the adoption of educational programs on ethics. This committee works in conjunction with other committees or task forces of ABMS to develop core principles and standards of medical ethics and professionalism and promote the attainment of professional standards through ongoing assessment of professional behaviors as a party of certification and the MOC program.
• The Health and Public Policy Committee supports ABMS as a leading voice for physicians on public policy related to physician specialization and physician self-regulation. It develops and maintains health policy that guides ABMS and Member Boards in enhancements with public policy makers regarding policy issues relevant to physician specialization and physician self-regulation. The committee serves the public as a trusted source of information from the medical profession through its health policy statements.

Representatives to Other Organizations

ABMS appoints or elects representatives to the following groups or organizations:

• Liaison Committee for Specialty Boards (LCSB)
• Council for Medical Affairs (CFMA)
• Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
• Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME)
• Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG)
• National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME)
• National Resident Matching Program (NRMP)

Budget

ABMS is funded by dues paid annually by Member Boards and Associate Members and by licensing fees. The annual budget of ABMS supports the service functions of the central office and the expenses of the organizational units and committees.

Meetings

ABMS Assembly conducts business meetings twice a year - an Annual Meeting in March and an Interim Meeting in September. Other meetings are called as needed and may include either the entire voting membership or limited groups representing the Members.

Officers and Members

ABMS Board of Directors 2013-2014

First Row (L to R): Thomas E. Norris, MD (Chair); Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA (ABMS President and Chief Executive Officer; John G. Clarkson, MD (Secretary-Treasurer). Second Row (L to R): Pamela J. Boyers, MA, PhD (Public Member); Tae Sung Park, MD; Kirk A. Frey, MD, PhD; Margaret E. O’Kane, MHS (Public Member); Barry S. Smith, MD; Wendy S. Levinson, MD; David H. Chestnut, MD; Barbara S. Schneidman, MD, MPH; Gail McGuinness, MD; Miriam G. Blitzer, PhD; Rebecca L. Johnson, MD; Gerald H. Jordan, MD. Third Row (L to R): Robert H. Miller, MD, MBA; Jo Buyske, MD; Judith F. Baumhauer, MD, MPH; Anne-Marie Irani, MD; Denece O. Kesler, MD, MPH; Larry C. Gilstrap III, MD; Susan Dentzer (Public Member); Gary J. Becker, MD; John E. Mayer Jr., MD; David J. Schoetz Jr., MD. Fourth Row (L to R): R. Barrett Noone, MD; Larry A. Green, MD; Michael L. Carius, MD; James G. Lifton, MBA (Public Member); David J. Wilson, MD; Stanley J. Miller, MD. Not Pictured: John B. McCabe, MD (Immediate Past Chair); Valerie M. Parisi, MD, MPH, MBA (Chair-Elect) and Eve Kurtin, PharmD, MBA (Public Member).

ABMS Professional Staff