Source: American Board of Family Medicine
The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) has worked with Prometric in securing new examination dates following the postponement of the April 2020 One-Day Family Medicine Certification Examination.
The ABFM has secured the following 2020 examination dates: July 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, and 21.
Physicians will not be charged any additional fees as a result of the postponement and rescheduling of their examination. If they do not wish to take advantage of the summer reschedule dates, they also have the option to withdraw their application and submit a new application for the November 2020 exam administration. The application for the November 2020 examination will be available in late July. Finally, the ABFM can issue a full refund by request if Diplomates wish to withdraw from participation altogether and not pursue another examination option at this time.
Once the physician has scheduled their appointment, it will take up to 24 hours for the ABFM to receive their appointment data from Prometric. Their e-ticket will become available within their Physician Portfolio once the appointment has been confirmed.
For an FAQ on the April exam changes, visit the ABFM website.
In addition, the following letter was sent to all ABFM Diplomates from ABFM Chair John Brady, MD, providing additional updates and insight for reference:
“My soul weeps because of grief” Psalm 119:28
Sometimes the smallest things can make everything better: the touch of a hand, a smile, an unexpected note from an old friend. But as we all well know, something tiny can also wreak havoc: a clot in the coronary artery, a herniation of a lumbar disc, and currently, a novel virus. Coronavirus has brought the entire world to its knees. Everything is disrupted—personal lives, professional lives, even global economies are reeling from it. Though there is some hope of a recent flattening of the curve, the number of infected keep climbing and the number dying keeps climbing. Social distancing has turned into “stay at home” orders. Unemployment has jumped dramatically. And more and more people do not have adequate food or shelter and are losing their insurance at the exact time they need it most. Every flaw of our health care system and our society seems to be accentuated and my heart aches for the normalcy of just two months ago.
COVID-19 has forced us all into a huge game of “Chutes and Ladders” with Maslow’s Hierarchy, where we have slid down to the “basic needs” level. Everything is difficult and higher thinking feels like wasted effort. But in order to survive, both individuals and businesses have to evolve. We have to re-evaluate our priorities. We have to re-evaluate our relationships. And, we have to understand and re-evaluate our purpose.
Last year, ABFM engaged in exactly this kind of self-reflection as it developed and implemented its Strategic Plan, so that even in these tumultuous times, it can remain focused on supporting family physicians through certification. As a result, the ABM is able to continue with the very popular Longitudinal Assessment (FMCLA) pilot, the revision of its Knowledge Self-Assessment (KSA) activities, and the work toward a Journal Article activity offering next year. We continue to enhance the Performance Improvement (PI) activity to decrease burden while improving relevancy to the diplomate (including recently adding one on COVID-19 which allows you to report on changes necessitated in your practice for certification credit). We are continuing to work with state chapters, residencies, and diplomates to improve bidirectional communication. Our research team is continuing to study not only the value of certification, but also workforce issues and trends, professionalism, and quality measurement. And through it all, we are continuing our focus on outreach to others inside and outside family medicine to foster greater collaboration.
Make no mistake, however, it is not business as usual at the ABFM. The offices have been closed and employees are working from home. Many of the meetings, including our upcoming board meeting, have been virtualized. Testing centers have been shuttered so the April exam could not take place. Conferences have been canceled making in-person communication nearly impossible. And, given the severity of the crisis, the ABFM has adopted emergency bylaws and postponed the election of new directors and officers for a year. But, we are adapting. Though coordination of projects is more challenging, our investments in technology over the past decade make it possible. Staff has been able to arrange for April examinees, including the majority of graduating residents, to be able to reschedule their one day examination in July (and though social distancing requirements at test centers has altered seating availability, we are working to make additional seats available). All examination and certification updates have been shared via timely, direct communication with those impacted and through updates on the COVID-19 section of the ABFM website. And as always, our Support Center remains actively engaged to answer your questions and help you along your certification journey.
The reason we do this is simple. In the midst of this crisis, our colleagues are working tirelessly in very difficult conditions to meet the needs of their patients. This heroic gesture necessitates a strong response from the ABFM, which is why we have committed to extended deadlines, providing COVID-19 specific activities, and offering payment deferral so that no family physician will lose their ABFM certification because of the extraordinary patient care pressures associated with this pandemic. The ABFM continues to stand with family physicians, as it has for 50 years, for as our country’s collective soul weeps, family physicians inspire. Thank you.