Focus on Life-Long Learning and Self-Assessment

摘要

Significant time has passed since the introduction of time-limited certificates by the American Board of Radiology (ABR). Time-limited certificate holders must enter Maintenance of Certification (MOC) and become recertified every 10 years [1]. The Federation of State Medical Boards and health care reform are leading to requiring all physicians, including radiologists, radiation oncologists, and ra-diologic physicists, to participate in MOC to maintain licensure and meet the requirements set forth in the newly passed health care reform acts. MOC has four parts: Part I: Professional Standing: Physicians must maintain continuous possession of an unrestricted medical license. Part II: Life-Long Learning: Radiologists must obtain 25 CME credits and two self-assessment modules (SAMs) per year over the 10-year cycle. Part III: Radiologists must pass the cognitive examination during the 10-year cycle. Part IV: Practice Quality Improvement: Radiologists must demonstrate continuous involvement in individual, institutional, or society-based quality improvement projects (www.theabr.org). The major emphasis has been and always will be on Part II: Life-Long Learning and Self-Assessment. Originally the ABR required 20 SAMs (16 clinical and four noninterpretive skills). However, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), which oversees certification and MOC of the 24 member boards including the ABR, recently modified the requirements for life-long learning and self-assessment. The new standards were adopted in March 2009 and will begin in 2011. The key changes include the following: