Lifelong Learning Requirements
Requirements for lifelong learning can include practice-relevant CME such as literature reviews, conference participation, online assessment, and/or particular board- or society-developed self-assessment modules.
Some Member Boards will waive self-assessment requirements for participation in an innovative knowledge assessment. Contact the Member Board for specific requirements.
American Board of Allergy and Immunology
- Attest to 25 allergy/immunology CME credits per year.
- Complete one patient safety module once every ten years.
American Board of Anesthesiology
- All credits must be AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™.
- No more than 70 CME credits per calendar year (completed between 2006 and 2012) will be credited toward the Part II requirement.
- No more than 60 CME credits per calendar year (completed in or after 2013) will be credited toward the requirement.
- Complete a minimum of 20 AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™ from ABA-approved Patient Safety CME Activities.
American Board of Colon and Rectal Surgery
- For diplomates enrolled in CertLink (5-year cycle), they are required to complete:
- 40 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits (non self-assessment).
- 40 self-assessment credits, which can be fulfilled by successfully completing the quarterly CertLink Assessment with a passing score of 70%.
- Attest to having earned a minimum of 25 AMA PRA Category 1 CME Credits™ annually.
- Complete a minimum of 100 self-assessment questions in each of these 3 periods: years 1–3, years 4–6, and years 7–10.
American Board of Emergency Medicine
- ABEM is transitioning to a five-year certification cycle. Emergency physicians that are in their 10-year certification cycle will need to complete 4 LLSA assessments in their first 5 years of certification
- Emergency physicians who have transitioned to the 5-year certification cycle do not have an LLSA requirement, because the LLSA is now integrated into MyEMCert.
American Board of Family Medicine
- Complete 150 CME credits of specialty-relevant CME every three years. A minimum of 75 of the 150 CME Credits must be AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
- Complete a minimum of one Self-Assessment Activity every three years. This requirement can be met from the successful completion of a Knowledge Self-Assessment (KSA) activity or by completing at least 4 quarters of the Continuous Knowledge Self-Assessment (CKSA) in each 3-year period. Successful completion of a KSA earns 10 ABFM points and 8 AMA PRA Category CME Credits™ and the CKSA is worth 2.5 ABFM points per quarter. Both activities can be accessed through the ABFM Physician Portfolio.
- The Clinical Self-Assessment (CSA) is now optional. Successful completion of a CSA earns 5 ABFM MOC Points and 4 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. CSAs are accessed through the ABFM Physician Portfolio.
American Board of Internal Medicine
- To meet certification requirements, ABIM Board Certified physicians must earn 100 points every five years, View options for earning ABIM medical knowledge MOC points.
American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics
- Complete one patient safety activity each 3-year cycle.
- Complete 75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (or equivalent) CME credits throughout each 3-year cycle. At least 50% of the CME credits must be related to Medical Genetics and Genomics.
American Board of Neurological Surgery
- Type 1 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ in neurosurgery related activities
- The following activities will be recorded automatically:
- Credits earned through the completion of the annual adaptive learning tool and/or modules.
- Participation in the ABNS oral exam as an examiner.
- Diplomates must self-report CME credits earned from any other activities.
American Board of Nuclear Medicine
- Complete a minimum of 25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ CME credits annually, which includes a minimum of 17.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ relevant to Nuclear Medicine
- Eight self-assessment credits must be part of the 17.5 CME credits related to Nuclear Medicine. Self-Assessment credits are awarded for both self-assessment modules (SAMs) and Self-Assessment CME Activities.
American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Three times per year (January, May, and August), ABOG delivers approximately 150 journal article options to Diplomates’ ABOG Physician Portals. Of those options, diplomates choose and read 30 practice-relevant articles and answer the corresponding article-based assessment questions. Each article has four assessment questions (for a total of 120 questions from a diplomate’s 30 article selections).
- To maintain certification, diplomates must score 80% or higher on the 120 article-based assessment questions and complete by the due date of December 15th. Upon successful completion of the ABOG reading assignments and assessment questions, diplomates will earn 25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ from ACOG.
American Board of Ophthalmology
- Attest to Completion of CME Requirements.
- CME Requirement: Attest to completing an average of 50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ every two years, including 16 credits of self-assessment. One patient safety activity must be completed during the 10-year cycle.
- Attestation: Diplomates use their status page to attest in years 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 of the 10-year cycle.
- Fast Track Continuing Certification/Re-entry Program
- Earn at least 250 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (within the last 10 years) and attest to completion.
- Attest via the ABO website to the completion of all CME one time during the 3-year Fast-Track Process.
American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery
- Complete 240 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ relevant to Orthopaedic Surgery every 10 years.
- 40 of the 240 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits must be self-assessment examinations (SAE) or Self-Assessment Activities (SA). SAE are activities produced by organizations other than the ABOS, then approved for MOC credit by ABOS. SAE credit may be earned through:
- Scored and recorded examinations
- Portfolio Program
- PIMs
- Registries
- Physician Scorecards
American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery
- Complete a minimum of 25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ annually.
- Complete one ABOto self-assessment module in a practice relevant area annually and achieve a passing score of 80% or higher.
- To meet ABPath’s Lifelong Learning requirements, diplomates must report one of the following every two years:
- Complete any combination of 70 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and/or AOA Category 1A credits per two-year reporting period.
- Complete an ACGME-accredited or institutional-accredited fellowship.
- Complete ABPath’s Physician Scientist Research Pathway
- Diplomates must earn 50 ABP MOC Part 2 (Self-Assessment) points during their 5-year cycle, ABP MOC Part 2 credit may be earned through the following:
- ABP-developed MOC Part 2 activities found within the physician’s ABP Pediatrics Portfolio
- Claim ABP MOC Part 2 credit directly with the ABP for work in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and Life Support Certifications (BLS, ACLS, PALS, NRP)
- Externally developed MOC Part 2 activities registered for ABP MOC credit by the CME accreditor
American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
- Complete an average of 30 AMA PRA Category Credits™ per year of certification. At least 50% of the credits should be related to the practice of physical medicine and rehabilitation or to your subspecialty area, if applicable.
- Complete and post an average of 8 CME credits related to a self-assessment activity per year of certification.
American Board of Plastic Surgery
- Complete 125 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ submitted in years 6 and 9 of the 10-year cycle:
- 125 Category 1 CME Credits required – may be Plastic Surgery or general
- 125 Plastic Surgery CME Credits – may be Category I or II
- 25 Patient Safety CME Credits – may be Category 1 or II
American Board of Preventive Medicine
- Attest to earning 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, or their equivalent, using the ABPM’s Physician Portal.
- Six of the credits must be relevant to Diplomates’ ABPM Certification(s). Diplomates will choose for themselves which CME courses are relevant to the ABPM Specialties or Subspecialties in which they are certified.
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
- Complete an average of 30 specialty or subspecialty AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ annually (averaged over three years).
- Diplomates are required to participate in ABPN-approved broad-based self-assessment activities. An average of 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ (annually), should involve self-assessment (averaged over three years).
- An institutional or ABPN-approved patient safety activity must be performed only once in a diplomate’s career, either three years before or within the first three years of participation.
- Complete 75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ every three years.
- Diplomates who successfully meet their OLA annual progress requirement no longer need to earn 25 self-assessment CME (SA-CME) credits.
- Diplomates should report CME activities on a regular basis, but no less than every five years.
- Diplomates must complete 150 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ over a five-year cycle. This requirement will change to 125 CME credits with no self-assessment required once diplomates pass their first Continuing Certification Assessment.
American Board of Thoracic Surgery
- Complete 150 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ over each 5-year period (an average of 30 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ annually).
- A minimum of 75 of the 150 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ need to be relevant to Thoracic Surgery
- Complete the SESATS exercise during the fifth year of the MOC cycle.
- Complete 90 CME credits relevant to Urology
- 30 of the 90 CME credits are required to be AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
- Evidence of Self-Assessment is demonstrated by the online completion of a Practice Assessment Protocol (PAP) two times throughout the 10-year MOC cycle.
- Additional components of the ABU Lifelong Learning (LLL) program include:
- Online application
- Medical licensure verification
- Professionalism and Ethics Module (PEM)
- Peer Review
- Patient Safety Videos (PSV)
- Patient Safety Module (PSM)
- Practice Log
- Complications and mortalities narrative(s)
- Knowledge assessment
