ABMS Member Board Lifelong Learning Requirements

Requirements for lifelong learning can include practice-relevant CME such as literature reviews, conference participation, online assessment, and/or particular board- or society-developed self-assessment modules.

Some Member Boards will waive self-assessment requirements for participation in an innovative knowledge assessment. Contact the Member Board for specific requirements.

American Board of Allergy and Immunology

  • Attest to 25 allergy/immunology CME credits per year.
  • Complete one patient safety module once every ten years.

American Board of Anesthesiology

  • All credits must be AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™.
  • No more than 70 CME credits per calendar year (completed between 2006 and 2012) will be credited toward the Part II requirement.
  • No more than 60 CME credits per calendar year (completed in or after 2013) will be credited toward the requirement.
  • Complete a minimum of 20 AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™ from ABA-approved Patient Safety CME Activities.

American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery

  • Complete 90 AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™ every five years.
  • Over a five-year cycle, 50 of the 90 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ must include a Self-Assessment Activity.
    • CARSEP or SESAP are recommended; however, any accredited CME activity that provides AMA PRA Category 1 credits™, and a Self-Assessment component (with a passing score of greater than 75%), will be accepted for MOC Part II Self-Assessment.

American Board of Dermatology

  • Attest to having earned a minimum of 25 AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™ annually.
  • Complete a minimum of 100 self-assessment questions in each of these 3 periods: years 1-3, years 4-6 and years 7-10.

American Board of Emergency Medicine

  • ABEM is transitioning to a five-year certification cycle. As of 2021, emergency physicians that are in their 10-year certification cycle will need to complete 4 LLSA assessments in their first 5 years of certification.
  • Emergency physicians who have transitioned to the 5-year certification cycle do not have an LLSA requirement, because the LLSA is now integrated into MyEMCert.

American Board of Family Medicine

  • Complete 150 CME credits of specialty-relevant CME every three years. A minimum of 75 of the 150 CME Credits must be AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
  • Complete a minimum of one Self-Assessment Activity every three years. This requirement can be met from the successful completion of a Knowledge Self-Assessment (KSA) activity or by completing at least 4 quarters of the Continuous Knowledge Self-Assessment (CKSA) in each 3-year period. Successful completion of a KSA earns 10 ABFM points and 8 AMA PRA Category CME Credits™ and the CKSA is worth 2.5 ABFM points per quarter. Both activities can be accessed through the ABFM Physician Portfolio.
  • The Clinical Self-Assessment (CSA) is now optional. Successful completion of a CSA earns 5 ABFM MOC Points and 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. CSA’s are accessed through the ABFM Physician Portfolio.

American Board of Internal Medicine

  • To meet certification requirements, ABIM Board Certified physicians must earn 100 points every five years, View options for earning ABIM medical knowledge MOC points.

American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics

  • Effective in 2022, the literature review module or equivalent was deleted as this is covered through the longitudinal assessment activity.
  • Complete one patient safety activity per 3-year cycle.
  • Effective in 2022, complete 60 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (or equivalent) CME credits throughout each 3-year cycle. At least 50% of the CME credits must be related to Medical Genetics and Genomics.

American Board of Neurological Surgery

  • Type 1 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ in neurosurgery related activities
  • The following activities will be recorded automatically:
    • Credits earned through the completion of the annual adaptive learning tool and/or modules.
    • Participation in the ABNS oral exam as an examiner.
  • Diplomates must self-report CME credits earned from any other activities.

American Board of Nuclear Medicine

  • Complete a minimum of 25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ CME credits annually, which includes a minimum of 17.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ relevant to Nuclear Medicine
    • Eight self-assessment credits must be part of the 17.5 CME credits related to Nuclear Medicine. Self-Assessment credits are awarded for both self-assessment modules (SAMs) and Self-Assessment CME Activities.

American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology

  • Three times per year (January, May, and August), ABOG delivers approximately 150 journal article options to Diplomates’ ABOG Physician Portals. Of those options, diplomates choose and read 30 practice-relevant articles and answer the corresponding article-based assessment questions. Each article has four assessment questions (for a total of 120 questions from a diplomate’s 30 article selections).
  • To maintain certification, diplomates must score 80% or higher on the 120 article-based assessment questions and complete by the due date of December 15th. Upon successful completion of the ABOG reading assignments and assessment questions, diplomates will earn 25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ from ACOG.

American Board of Ophthalmology

  • Attest to Completion of CME Requirements.
    • Attestation: Diplomates log on to their status page and access the CME & Self-Assessment Attest Now link biannually (in years 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10) to confirm completion of at least 50 CME credits.
    • CME Requirement: Attest to participating in an average of 50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ every two years, including 16 credits of self-assessment. One patient safety activity must be completed during the 10-year cycle.
  • Fast Track MOC Entry
    • Earn at least 250 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (within the last 10 years), and attest to completion of all CME once during 3-year Fast Track cycle.
    • Log in to the ABO website to attest to the completion of all CME one time during the 3-year Fast Track Process

American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery

  • Complete 240 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ relevant to Orthopaedic Surgery every 10 years.
  • 40 of the 240 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits must be self-assessment examinations (SAE) or Self-Assessment Activities (SA). SAE are activities produced by organizations other than the ABOS, then approved for MOC credit by ABOS. SAE credit may be earned through:
    • Scored and recorded examinations
    • Portfolio Program
    • PIMs
    • Registries
    • Physician Scorecards

American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery

  • Complete a minimum of 25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ annually.
  • Complete one ABOto self-assessment module in a practice relevant area annually and achieve a passing score of 80% or higher.

American Board of Pathology

  • To meet ABPath’s Lifelong Learning requirements, diplomates must report one of following every two years:
    • Complete 70 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ per two-year reporting period.
    • Complete an ACGME-accredited or institutional accredited fellowship.
    • Complete ABPath’s Physician-Scientist Research Pathway
  • At least of the 20 of the 70 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ must be from activities which count as Self-Assessment Modules (SAMs).
  • 80% of reported AMA Category 1 Credits™ must be directly related to the diplomate’s scope of practice.

American Board of Pediatrics

  • As of 2022 diplomates must earn 50 ABP MOC Part 2 (Self-Assessment) points during their 5-year cycle, ABP MOC Part 2 credit may be earned through the following:
    • ABP-developed MOC Part 2 activities found within the physician’s ABP Pediatrics Portfolio
    • Claim ABP MOC Part 2 credit directly with the ABP for work in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and Life Support Certifications (BLS, ACLS, PALS, NRP)
    • Externally developed MOC Part 2 activities registered for ABP MOC credit by the CME accreditor

American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

  • Complete 150 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ in years 1-5 and in years 6-10 of the MOC cycle.
  • Complete 40 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ through ABPMR-approved self-assessment in years 1-5 and in years 6-10 of the MOC cycle.

American Board of Plastic Surgery

  • Complete 125 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ submitted in years 6 and 9 of the 10-year cycle:
    • 125 Category 1 CME Credits required – may be Plastic Surgery or general
    • 125 Plastic Surgery CME Credits – may be Category I or II
    • 25 Patient Safety CME Credits – may be Category 1 or II

American Board of Preventive Medicine

  • Complete 25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ annually
  • Complete a patient safety module once every 10 years

American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology

  • Complete an average of 30 specialty or subspecialty AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ annually (averaged over three years).
  • Diplomates are required to participate in ABPN-approved broad-based self-assessment activities. An average of 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (annually), should involve self-assessment (averaged over three years).
  • An institutional or ABPN-approved patient safety activity must be performed only once in a diplomate’s career, either three years before or within the first three years of participation.

American Board of Radiology

  • Complete 75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ every three years.
  • 25 of the 75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ must be Self-Assessment (SA) Credits.
  • 2022 will be the final year that we will require diplomates completing their OLA annual progress requirement to complete self-assessment CME (SA-CME). All diplomates will still need to complete 75 Category 1 CME credits in the previous three-year period, but no SA-CME will be required after 2022.

American Board of Surgery

  • Diplomates should report CME activities on a regular basis, but no less than every five years.
  • Diplomates must complete 150 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ over a five-year cycle. This requirement will change to 125 CME credits with no self-assessment required once diplomates pass their first Continuing Certification Assessment.

American Board of Thoracic Surgery

  • Complete 150 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ over each 5-year period (an average of 30 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ annually).
    • A minimum of 75 of the 150 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ need to be relevant to Thoracic Surgery
  • Complete the SESATS exercise during the fifth year of the MOC cycle.

American Board of Urology

  • Complete 90 CME credits relevant to Urology
    • 30 of the 90 CME credits are required to be AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
  • Evidence of Self-Assessment is demonstrated by the online completion of a Practice Assessment Protocol (PAP) two times throughout the 10-year MOC cycle.