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ACG President Announces GI-Focused MOC Alternative in the Works
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PHILADELPHIA – The American College of Gastroenterology, along with other gastroenterology-focused societies, met with the American Board of Internal Medicine and will move forward with an alternative assessment plan for gastroenterology maintenance of certification, Irving M. Pike, MD, FACG, said during his presidential address.
“Gastroenterologists are not at all happy with the current Maintenance of Certification process. Quite the opposite is true,” Pike said. “There is a tremendous dissatisfaction with the cost of the process, with the continuous every 10-year testing and now with the 2-year testing check-in option, this only increases the amount of testing and the failure of ABIM to appeal to respond to the many appeals to make sweeping changes at a rapid pace.”
Pike explained that this year, ACG joined forces with the AASLD, the AGA and the ASGE to form a task force prepared to develop a GI-centered MOC overhaul. The result was the Gastroenterology Ongoing Assessment and Learning (GOAL) proposal, which the societies presented to ABIM on Thursday, October 4.
“We requested that the ABIM accept this proposal as an alternative model for gastroenterology MOC. This proposal would allow for a MOC pathway which is simpler, less intrusive and less expensive than the current model,” Pike said. “The GOAL proposal is an ongoing assessment of current medical knowledge and its application to clinical practice, using quick questions and journal-based learning similar to formats used by boards in anesthesiology, OBGYN and pediatrics.”
Pike explained that GOAL will be another option added to the 2-year and 10-year assessments.
“The ABIM, as a result of this work and this meeting, has agreed to work with the four-society workgroup to explore GOAL with some additional work as another pathway to MOC, meeting our personal needs of ongoing education relevant to our areas of specialization or subspecialization,” Pike said. “We’ve heard you and we will continue to press forward with GOAL or whatever is necessary until we have an alternative to what ABIM has put forward thus far.” – by Katrina Altersitz
Reference: Pike, IM. Presidential Address. Presented at: American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting; Oct. 5-10, 2018; Philadelphia.