In the winter 2016 issue of the American Board of Family Medicine’s (ABFM) quarterly newsletter, The Phoenix, ABFM President James Puffer, MD, details the recent changes made to its Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) process.
Two major adjustments announced include unhinging the clinical simulation component from the knowledge assessment of the self-assessment modules (SAMs) and transitioning all diplomates to a MC-FP point system – effective this year.
Based upon negative diplomate feedback that specifically related to the technical and navigation issues in the clinical simulations, the ABFM made the decision to unlink the clinical simulation and knowledge assessment components of each SAM, thereby making the clinical simulations optional effective Friday, July 1.
Accordingly, the mandatory Part II requirement that at least one SAM be completed during each stage of MC-FP will be modified this year to mandate that at least one knowledge self-assessment (KSA) be completed in each stage in addition to at least one Part IV activity. In order to avoid the confusion of the multiple permutations of Part II and Part IV activities that could be combined to meet stage requirements, the ABFM will also be transitioning all diplomates to a point system to simplify how they meet their stage requirements.
The MC-FP point system requires that diplomates now accumulate 50 MC-FP points in each stage with completion of at least one Part IV activity and one Part II activity which is now a KSA instead of a SAM. In fact, the SAM terminology will no longer be used. Most Part IV activities (but not all) are valued at 20 points; the KSAs will now be worth 10 points each and the clinical self-assessment (CSA) will be valued at 5 points.
Specific details about the new changes can be found in the winter 2016 issue of The Phoenix.