On December 14, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) announced an alternative to the 10-year Internal Medicine recertification exam, effective 2018. Currently, ABIM board–certified physicians can participate in Maintenance of Certification (MOC) by earning 100 MOC points every 5 years and passing a maintenance of certification exam every 10 years.
Beginning in 2018, physicians who are certified by the ABIM in Internal Medicine will have the option to take a lower-stakes exam every 2 years, rather than taking the current high-stakes exam every 10 years. The low-stakes exam option provides greater flexibility to the diplomate by allowing one to complete the examination at a convenient time set by the physician at home or in the office. While this new option will initially be available only to Internal Medicine diplomates, the ABIM intends to extend this alternative recertification model to subspecialties in the future.
CHEST is exploring how our education will evolve to address these key changes. For additional information, please visit ABIM’s website.