What is Maintenance of Certification?

Maintenance of Certification (MOC) was designed by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) as a way to ensure a continuous cycle of lifelong learning for a physicians professional development throughout their medical career. This program assures the public that board certified specialists have remained current with evolving knowledge, that their practices meet acceptable standards, and that they are recognized and respected as specialists by their patients and peers.

When a physiatrist passes both parts of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) board examinations, he/she is issued a 10-year, time-limited certificate. To maintain their certificate, they must complete the MOC cycle within the 10 years before their certificate expires. MOC requirements include a variety of educational activities to increase a physicians competency, knowledge, and skills. ABPMR sets the requirements, monitors and tracks the MOC process for all board certified physiatrists to ensure all standards are being met. Your Academy is your partner in providing products and tools to help you meet ABPMR-mandated requirements.

Part I: Professional Standing and Licensure

Physicians must hold a valid, unrestricted medical license in at least one state or jurisdiction in the United States, its territories or Canada. Initial licensure requires successful completion of the licensing authoritys examination. Once licensed, physicians must continue to successfully meet their licensing authoritys requirements.

ABPMR Part I Professional Standing and Licensure requirements:

• Board certification is achieved by successful completion of both ABPMRs Part I, Computer Based Examination, and Part II, Oral Examination.
• To maintain board certification, diplomates must hold a continuous, valid, unrestricted license.

Member resources: Your Academy offers the abridged version of the SAE-R as a study tool for residents preparing to take their board exams. For more information, click here.

Part II: Lifelong Learning and Self Assessment

Physicians must participate in educational and self-assessment programs that meet specialty-specific standards that are set by their member board which ensures that new information and knowledge are incorporated into professional development.

ABPMR Part II Life Long Learning requirements:

• A minimum of 300 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits need to be completed within the 10-year cycle.

Member Resources: Your Academy hosts a variety of activities on acadeME including slide lectures, case studies and journal based activities as well as live events including stand alone courses and the Annual Assembly. For a complete list of Academy offerings, click here.

ABPMR Part II Self Assessment requirements:

• Diplomates with certificates expiring in 2010-2011 must complete four (4) self assessments in their 10-year cycle.
• Diplomates who need to certify or recertify in 2012 or later must complete an average of 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits from self assessments each year during their 10-year MOC cycle (averaged over 5 years).
• Note: These requirement changes will not affect the current cycle for diplomates participating in MOC.

Member resources: Your Academy currently offers a variety of self-assessment examinations for practioners (SAE-Ps) that relate directly to physiatric practice. Click here for all available SAE-Ps.

Part III: Cognitive Expertise

Physicians must demonstrate, through a formalized examination, that they have the fundamental, practice-related and practice environment-related knowledge to provide quality care in their specialty.

ABPMR Part III Cognitive Expertise requirements:

• Part III is measured by the ABPMR Primary MOC Examination. Diplomates are eligible to sit for the Primary MOC Exam in years 710 of their 10-year MOC cycle.

Member resources: Your Academy currently offers two different study tools to help you prepare for the ABPMR Primary MOC exam. Click here for more information on these resources.

• Online Mock Examination: a study tool with 160 questions that mirror the ABPMR Primary MOC Exam outline. Questions address the 16 content areas of PM&R and provides users with immediate feedback, explanation, and references for answers.
• Online Review Courses: if you need to brush up on a specific clinical area, choose from one of the six Online Review Courses. These narrated slide lectures were developed to address educational needs identified through the consistent underperforming sections of the ABPMR Primary MOC Exam results.

Part IV: Practice Performance Improvement

Physicians are evaluated in their clinical practice according to specialty-specific standards for patient care. They are asked to demonstrate that they can assess the quality of care they provide compared to peers and national benchmarks and then apply the best evidence or consensus recommendations to improve that care using follow-up assessments.

ABPMR Part IV Practice Performance Improvement requirements:

• Diplomates with certificates expiring in 2010-2011 are required to complete one ABPMR-approved Practice Improvement Project (PIP) during their 10-year cycle.
• Diplomates who need to certify or re-certify in 2012 or later must complete two (2) ABPMR-approved PIPs during their 10-year cycleone in years 1-5 and one in years 6-10.
• NOTE: These requirements will not affect the current cycle for diplomates participating in MOC.

Member resources: Your Academy has created an interactive self guided activity to assist practioners in meeting their Part IV MOC requirement while earning up to 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. Click here for more information on Practice Improvement Projects.

Academy Tools to Help Complete MOC

• Access your Personal MOC Plan that helps you navigate and meet requirements set forth by ABPMR.
• Watch a free 13 minute webinar that provides you an overview on the history and organizations involved with MOC.

Click here to view the grid below in PDF format.

Component	ABPMR (Board) Requirement Click here for ABPMR site for more information	AAPM&R (Academy) Tools to Help Complete MOC
Part I: Professional Standing and Licensure	Must hold a current, valid, and unrestricted license to practice medicine.	The Academy offers the following resources to assist in obtaining and maintaining your license: MOC/3 Online Mock Examination; NOTE: The Online MOC/3 Mock Exam is not available for CME credit or to help meet Part II of MOC, but it is a helpful study tool. Self-Assessment Examination for Residents (SAE-R); NOTE: The SAE-R is not available for CME credit or to help meet Part II of MOC, but it is a helpful study tool.
Part II: Lifelong Learning	Complete 300 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits in the 10-year cycle (recommended: 30 CME credits each year); 50% must be within the physician's specialty area or practice	The Academy offers a variety of AMA PRA Category 1 Credits opportunities to help you fulfill your MOC and licensure requirements: Online CME through acadeME (Journal-based CME, online courses, case studies, and slide lectures) Live courses
Part II: Self Assessment	Diplomates with certificates issued before 2012 must complete four (4) ABPMR-approved self assessments during their 10-year cycle. Diplomates who were certified or re-certified in 2012 or later must complete an average of 8 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits per year (averaged over 5 years) involving ABPMR-approved self assessments during their 10-year MOC cycle. NOTE: These requirement changes will not affect the current cycle for diplomates participating in MOC who were certified/re-certified prior to 2012.	Physicians can choose from the Academy's variety of self-assessment examinations for practitioner (SAE-P) topics on acadeME: Osteoarthritis-available mid 2012 Concussion Neural Plasticity Fatigue Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Pediatric Rehabilitation Manual Medicine Biologics Spasticity, Dystonia and Related Motor Disorders Sports Medicine (Subspecialty Board Review)
Part III: Cognitive Expertise	Successfully complete ABPMR Primary MOC Examination or ABPMR Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) Examination (can only be taken in years 710 of the MOC cycle).	The Academy provides the following study tools for those preparing for the ABPMR Primary MOC Examination. To simulate an online testing environment, mirroring ABPMR's Primary MOC Examination: MOC/3 Online Mock Examination; 160 questions address the 16 content areas of PM&R and provide users with immediate feedback, explanation and references for answers. NOTE: The Online Mock Exam is not available for CME credit or to help meet Part II of MOC, but it is a helpful study tool. NOTE: The MOC/3 Mock Exam and the Online Review Courses are not endorsed by ABPMR nor was ABPMR involved in the creation of these study tools. To provide an in-depth clinical review of selected topics where Diplomates consistently demonstrate an educational need: MOC/3 Online Courses: Cardiac and Cancer Rehabilitation Electrodiagnosis Industrial Medicine Joint and Connective Tissue Disorders Pediatric Rehabilitation Spinal Cord Injury Each online review course is approximately two hours long and is led by a clinical expert in the given topic area.
Part IV: Practice Performance	Diplomates with certificates issued before 2012 must complete one ABPMR-approved practice improvement project (PIP) during their 10-year cycle. Diplomates who were certified or recertified in 2012 or later must complete two (2) ABPMR-approved PIPs (one in years 1-5 and one in years 6-10) during their 10-year MOC cycle. NOTE: These requirements will not affect the current cycle for diplomates participating in MOC who were certified/re-certified prior to 2012.	To assist physicians in meeting their Part IV requirement, the Academy has created these self-guided, interactive activities: Low Back Pain PIP Stroke Rehabilitation PIP Deep Vein Thrombosis PIP Osteoporosis PIP
Fees	Pay yearly fee to ABPMR to keep MOC participation active	The Academy offers many CME products for FREE while others have fees to cover costs.

For ease of navigation and access to relevant information, content on acadeME has been aligned with these requirements.