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ABEM News
ABEM to Pilot Virtual Oral Exam in 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in ABEM adapting to the ever-changing environment. The most recent devel opment is the aggressive exploration of transitioning the current Oral Exam format to a virtual Oral Exam. The vir in 2021; information from the pilot experience will inform further design, development, and administration of a vir tual Oral Exam, post-COVID. ABEM recognizes that certification is an important mile stone in a physician’s career, both personally and financially. A letter is available for current Oral Exam candidates to provide to their employers that verifies their successful completion of the Qualifying Examination and states that they are awaiting assignment to take the Oral Certification Examination. ABEM will provide additional details as they become final ized. Updates will be posted on the ABEM website.
ABEM Announces Important Continuing Certification Changes
ABEM listened to suggestions from the Emergency Medicine community and is pleased tual Oral Exam will be piloted and then fully implemented
to announce improvements in how ABEM-certified physicians can stay certified. Beginning in spring 2021, ABEM-certified physicians will be able to meet continuing certification requirements by completing 4 MyEMCert modules (online and open book, approximately 50 questions each) instead of taking the ConCert Exam. The switch to MyEMCert will emphasize relevant content, save emergency physicians time and money, and better accommodate their busy schedule. ABEM will no longer offer ConCert after 2022.
Starting in 2021, ABEM will move to a 5-year certification period for physicians when they next recertify. It’s important to note the move from a 10-year to 5-year certification length will not increase total requirements or increase the cost to stay certified. As physicians move to a 5-year certification period, ABEM will also move to an annual fee structure. ABEM has set a cap on fees paid by physicians so no physician will pay more than $1,400 to renew their certification. ABEM recognizes these changes affect physicians differently depending on where they are in their certification. We have developed a tool “✔ABEM Reqs” to help emergency physicians view their ABEM requirements based on when their current ABEM certifica tion expires. Visit www.abem.org/public/stay-certified/cert-requirements/ Read the full news release here: www.abem.org/public/news-events/news/2020/08/04/ abem-continuing-certification-updates.
Mary Nan S. Mallory, MD MBA, has been elected President of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM). Dr. Mallory has been a member of the Board of Directors since July 2012 and was elected to the Executive Committee in 2019. She has served ABEM in a number of capacities, including as Chief Examiner and Editor for the Oral Certification Examination and Co-editor of the In-training Examination. Dr. Mallory also has served as Secretary-Treasurer and Chair of the Finance, Bylaws, and Continuing Certification committees.
Dr. Mallory received a medical degree from the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University and completed residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She also earned an M.B.A. from University of Louisville College of Business. Dr. Mallory is currently Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs and Professor of Emergency Medicine for the Department of Emergency Medicine at University of Louisville School of Medicine, and an attending physician at the University of Louisville Hospital. “I look forward to my role as ABEM President and continuing conversations with diplomates and candidates, navigating certification exami nation transitions, and ensuring certification standards and value as we move through these challenging times together” said Dr. Mallory. Others elected to the Executive Committee are:
Jill M. Baren, MD MS MBA, ImmediatePast-President. Dr. Baren is provost and vice president of academic affairs at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. She is Emeritus Professor of Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, and Medical Ethics at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Baren practices clinically at Penn Medicine and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Marianne Gausche-Hill, MD, President-Elect. Dr. Gausche-Hill is Medical Director of the Los Angeles County Emergency Medical Services Agency, Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and clinical faculty member at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics. Samuel M. Keim, MD MS, SecretaryTreasurer. Dr. Keim is Professor and Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and a professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. He practices clinically at Banner University Medical Center in Tucson. Ramon W. Johnson, MD MBA, Memberat-Large. Dr. Johnson is a full-time partner in Mission Viejo Emergency Medicine Associates at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, California, and Medical Director of the Doctor’s Ambulance Company, Laguna Hills, California. Lewis S. Nelson, MD, Senior-Member-atLarge. Dr. Nelson is Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine, and Chief of the Division of Medical Toxicology at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School; and Chief of Service at the University Hospital of Newark. All ABEM Executive Committee members are clinically active emergency physicians.
