American Board of Internal Medicine, ASCO to develop alternative pathway for oncologists to maintain board certification

The American Board of Internal Medicine and ASCO have partnered to create a more flexible way for oncologists to maintain board certification.

Beginning in 2020, oncologists will be able to choose between two pathways.

They will be able to take an American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification exam every 10 years, or they can choose to take a shorter exam — developed by ABIM and ASCO — every 2 years.

The shorter assessment pathway will address core oncology topics, as well as a physician’s specific area of practice.

“The new assessment pathway is the result of more than 2 years of input and feedback from ASCO members, as well as our desire to collaborate with ABIM because of their recognized expertise in assessment,” Clifford Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO, ASCO’s CEO, said in a press release. “Our dual goals for reshaping the recertification process are to ensure that assessment better reflects the realities of cancer care and recognizes oncologists for their knowledge gained through educational and quality improvement activities.”

The new shorter assessment pathway will take the place of ABIM’s 2-year Knowledge Check-In in Medical Oncology, which had been planned for 2020.

Oncologists will not need to be ASCO members to participate in the alternative shorter assessment pathway.

“The ABIM Maintenance of Certification program continues to evolve in new and exciting ways due to our active partnership with medical societies and doctors across the country,” Richard J. Baron, president and CEO of ABIM, said in the release. “We are proud to be working with ASCO, truly an innovator in offering excellent educational material in oncology, to co-create a new assessment pathway that upholds standards patients can trust while recognizing oncologists for the specialized knowledge they use to diagnose and treat cancer.”