Updates Serve to Fill Knowledge Gaps, Improve Health and Health Care
Per the Continuing Board Certification: Vision for the Future Commission (Vision Commission) recommendations, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member Boards have completed the transition to continuing certification from Maintenance of Certification.
The Member Boards have replaced their secure, point-in-time examinations of knowledge with modular or longitudinal assessments that support learning by providing timely feedback on performance; identifying gaps in knowledge; and encouraging engagement in improving health and health care (IHHC). Moreover, longitudinal assessments, with formative feedback, taken over a few years are used by the boards to reach a summative decision about a diplomate’s certification status. This important second step in the certification process aligns the learning with demonstrated specialty knowledge and judgment. Importantly, the Vision Commission recommendations are reflected in the new Standards for Continuing Certification that were approved by the ABMS Board of Directors in 2021 and became effective Jan. 1, 2024.
In addition to supporting board certified physicians and medical specialists (known as diplomates) in keeping their skills sharp and knowledge current, Member Boards are enhancing their continuing certification programs with an eye toward filling knowledge gaps and improving the health of patients and health care provided in the systems in which diplomates work. The following examples highlight Member Boards recent and upcoming major enhancements to their continuing certification programs.
In 2024, the American Board of Urology (ABU) transitioned to its five-year cycle Continuing Urologic Certification (CUC) program. It consists of three learning components – Knowledge Exposure (new concepts and guideline updates), Knowledge Reinforcement (a memory challenge of basic urologic knowledge), and Knowledge Assessment (identification of relevant knowledge gaps). In addition, Lifelong Learning activities are assigned to a specific year to provide guidance and decrease the burden of completing all activities at the end of the five-year cycle. Diplomates achieving an acceptable passing score during Years 2 and 4 are not required to take the Year 5 Knowledge Assessment but may participate if desired. If the diplomate does not take the Knowledge Assessment in Year 5, learning for that year is self-directed.
In January, the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) transitioned to Certification 2025, its new Continuous Certification Five-Year Cycle. The new Five-Year Cycle will meet ABMS’ Standards requiring Member Boards to “determine an interval no longer than five years of whether a diplomate is meeting continuing certification requirements to retain each certificate.” This change will help diplomates maintain awareness of increasingly rapid medical advancements and changes in practice guidelines.
Among the benefits of the 5-Year Cycle for diplomates are having the option to answer quarterly exam questions or take the traditional one-day exam to meet the exam requirement; more time to complete certification activity requirements (five years vs. three years); flexibility to choose how and when to complete certification activities; and the fifth year off for diplomates who complete all their requirements in four years. The annual fees remain unchanged in 2025.
The same month, the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) expanded its Longitudinal Assessment Program (LAP) pilot to all specialties and subspecialties. All ABPM diplomates with current, time-limited certificates will participate in the extended LAP pilot, except for those certified in Health Care Administration, Leadership, and Management, a new certification whose LAP pilot will begin in 2027.
During the pilot, diplomates with time-limited certificates will answer 30 specialty-specific questions per calendar year for each of their certificates. They may consult textbooks and other resources during the assessment, consistent with how physicians practice medicine today. The extended pilot will continue through Dec. 31, 2029.
In July, the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) launched an 18-month pilot designed to introduce article-based questions into MOCA Minute® to share new and relevant advancements in anesthesiology. Article-based questions bring new knowledge into the assessment process earlier, encouraging critical thinking and supporting patient safety across clinical settings.
This pilot is in collaboration with the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) and features questions derived from recent articles published in Anesthesiology, the ASA’s peer-reviewed flagship journal. Journal editors select articles that can inform questions that directly translate to relevant clinical practice. Diplomates receive the same detailed, question-specific feedback for article-based questions as they do for all other MOCA Minute items. Similarly, these questions are scored the same as all other MOCA Minute questions.
This pilot reflects ABA’s broader strategic commitment to evolve how it assesses physician readiness. By integrating current literature into its assessments, ABA is not only reinforcing core knowledge but also fostering the kind of reflective, evidence-based thinking that supports broader professional skills.
The American Board of Dermatology (ABD) is streamlining its Continuing Certification Program beginning in January 2026. Most continuing certification requirements will be met through participation in CertLink®, which up until now has been a pilot program for ABD. The other requirements have not changed: completing one Practice Improvement (PI) activity every five years and having a valid medical license. An all-inclusive annual fee of $150 remains the same. Starting in 2026, diplomates’ cumulative performance in CertLink will be measured after four years. Diplomates who meet the passing standard by the end of the fourth year will get a CertLink holiday in Year 5. Those who do not meet the passing standard must take a Catch-Up Exam in the fifth year.
In 2023, ABD collaborated with key professional organizations and subspecialty associations by asking them to identify knowledge gaps they perceive in training and/or continuing dermatology education, particularly in subspecialties. The following year, ABD used this information to develop 11 new PI activities and update 32 modules as well as more items for CertLink and certifying exams, many aimed at filling gaps in knowledge and skills. ABD also added science questions to CertLink using the rationale that dermatologists should understand the science underlying cutting-edge diagnosis and management of skin disease given the breadth and depth as well as the proliferation of scientific knowledge in recent years.
In January 2026, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) will launch its Amplified Continuing Education (ACE) pilot, an innovative enhancement to ABOG’s continuing certification process. The ACE pilot is designed to identify and close knowledge gaps for diplomates through zero-pressure questions, without requiring additional work. In general, diplomates will be required to answer the same total number of questions (120) as part of ABOG’s assessment; read fewer articles (10 instead of 15) and answer six scored questions per article (60 total); and answer 60 formative ACE knowledge gap questions. Questions will be informed by data collected from diplomates during the continuing certification application process. At the end of the year, diplomates will receive peer comparison and overall feedback by category. ABOG will evaluate the ACE pilot at the end of 2026. Based on a successful evaluation, the pilot will be officially implemented in January 2027.
Many Member Boards have also added opportunities to meet IHHC requirements for a variety of professional activities.
In 2023, ABOG began allowing diplomates to receive IHHC credit for obtaining a Drug Enforcement Administration license for prescribing drugs/controlled substances and serving as a Program Director or Associate Program Director.
Among the additional opportunities that the American Board of Pediatrics is offering diplomates to earn IHHC credit in 2024 are the Pediatric Community Health Initiative aimed at those doing work to improve child, adolescent, and youth health; the Leading Improvements in Child Health and Health Care pathway for physicians who make improvements through large-scale programs or initiatives implemented at an organizational, community, or population health level; and Medical Education Program Improvements for diplomates overseeing medical student clinical clerkship rotations, residency programs, and fellowship programs. The ABP Small Group Quality Improvement (QI) Project was expanded, as well.
New ways to meet IHHC requirements for American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) diplomates since 2024 include active participation for at least three years in various Residency/Fellowship committees approved by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; serving in a leadership role during accreditation or certification/recertification efforts by specific accrediting bodies; presenting a poster of original QI research at specific specialty societies’ annual meetings; and serving in a director role of an accredited lab program. In 2025, diplomates can earn IHHC credit through LA-PM&R by completing IHHC-designated article-based questions and by authoring or co-authoring a published, peer-reviewed article demonstrating measurable QI within a clinical practice or hospital setting.
The ABMS Member Boards remain committed to assessing their continuing certification programs; augmenting and refining them to ensure they address diplomates’ needs while upholding the integrity and strength of the credential.
© 2025 American Board of Medical Specialties
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