ABMS Mission
The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) mission, vision, promise, and values guide us each day. They represent who we are, what we do, and our commitment to those we serve.
Our Mission
Improve health care through high standards for physician board certification.
Our Vision
Excellent care for every patient from every board certified physician.
Our Promise
Board certified physicians have the expertise needed to provide care patients can trust.
Our Values
Excellent patient care
Everyone deserves patient-centered, high-quality care from board certified physicians
High standards
Better care is built on higher standards
Professional development
Assessment-driven learning and development is the foundation of high-quality patient care
Trust through accountability
High board certification standards foster trust
Inclusion and collaboration
Engaging diverse perspectives leads to better patient care
Living Our Mission
Our mission comes to life by:
✔ Supporting the ABMS Member Boards and their board certified physicians in today’s health care environment
ABMS supports advancing a physician’s or specialist’s clinical knowledge and skills throughout their entire career. The 24 Member Boards in our network have rigorous assessment programs that ensure a specialist has the knowledge, judgment, and skills to provide excellent patient care. Nearly one million physicians and specialists hold certification across 38 specialties and 89 subspecialties.
In addition to assessment, ABMS programs offer professional development opportunities that contribute to an organization’s quality improvement priorities, facilitate leadership development of early-career physicians and research professionals, and promote excellence in care through research related to assessment and certification.
✔ Preserving the standards of certification for physicians and specialists
Since board certification was conceived more than 100 years ago, physicians have held one another accountable to a higher standard of practice. They created specialty boards and a system of examination and education to ensure that the standards of their specialty are met.
Today, these standards affirm the core value of board certification and reflect ABMS’ ongoing commitment to collaborate with stakeholders to refine physician assessment. Our responsibility is to preserve the integrity of the credential — for the professionals who earn it and the communities that rely on it.
✔ Transforming continuing certification to better align with the needs of physicians and specialists
ABMS board certification tells a story about an individual’s knowledge, judgment, and skills. It represents their commitment to professionalism and improving their health systems. Participating in an ABMS Member Board’s continuing certification program encourages ongoing learning and improvement that is innovative, relevant, and meaningful to physicians’ practice and professional life.
The ABMS standards for continuing certification enhance board certification programs to:
- Enable better, more frequent, and convenient assessments that help physicians keep up with evolving medical science, while maintaining a rigorous evaluation of their knowledge
- Use the formative aspects of assessment to inform the summative decision on certification status
- Provide online assessments and other activities that allow a physician to meet their certification requirements with minimal interruption to their work
- Offer remediation pathways to retain or regain a certificate.
✔ Leading the effort to protect medical professional self-regulation
Professional self-regulation ensures that practitioners are qualified, competent, and ethical. It is a cornerstone of the medical profession. Throughout their careers, many physicians certified by ABMS Member Boards contribute to defining, implementing, and upholding professional standards.
At its core, professional self-regulation is a collaborative effort. It involves working together with our partners — including ABMS Member Boards, Associate Members, and professional societies —to uphold the integrity of the profession.
While ABMS and its Member Boards define the standards for specialty expertise, a broad network of stakeholders supports physicians’ lifelong learning. These partners provide continuing medical education, improvement programs, and learning opportunities that span from residency through retirement. Each plays a vital role in fostering meaningful professional development and continuous improvement.
✔ Providing a platform to address emerging and critical public health issues that impact health care delivery and patient care
As part of the greater house of medicine, ABMS believes it is important to comment on critical issues affecting physicians and specialists, the certification community, and the health and the patients and communities we serve. Read ABMS statements.
✔ Establishing policies that support physicians and medical specialists in providing the highest quality care
In addition to establishing policies that support physicians and medical specialists in providing patient-centered, high-quality care, ABMS promotes professionalism across the medical specialties. Read the summer 2025 and fall 2022 issues of ABMS Insights to learn more about professionalism.
ABMS Strategic Plan
ABMS is currently following its 2023–2028 strategic plan. This plan defines big-picture needs, expectations, and opportunities; anticipates key changes and new demands in the external environment; and defines the major themes and topics (imperatives) that will guide ABMS in the coming years.
