CORE EXAM
AOBEM’S NEW OSTEOPATHIC CONTINUOUS CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION
T
he American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine (AOBEM) recently announced the launch of its new annual Osteopathic Continuous Certification (OCC) examination. The Continuous Osteopathic Recertification Examination (CORE) will replace the 10-year examination known as the Cognitive Assessment Recertification Examination.
By Christopher P. Zabbo, DO, FACEP, FACOEP Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine Secretary, American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine
OVERVIEW If you have an active AOBEM certification, you are eligible to participate in the Continuous Osteopathic Recertification Exam (CORE). You DO NOT need to enter CORE until your certification expiration year. You MUST enter CORE by your certification expiration year. If your certification expired in 2019 or before, please review the process for the OCC Cognitive Assessment Examination. All new diplomates will enter directly into CORE upon successful completion of the initial certification process. (Example: A physician obtains initial board certification in 2021 would begin CORE in 2022.)
WHAT IS MY CME REQUIREMENT? A physician must earn 60 CME credits for the 2019-2021 CME cycle. AOA specialty certifying boards will not require diplomates to obtain specialty-specific CME during the 20192021 CME cycle. View the 2019-2021 CME Guide for more information on activities that may serve to meet the requirement. For the 2019-2021 CME cycle, all nontime-limited diplomates will be required to earn 120 total CME credits, unless they choose to voluntarily participate in OCC.
WHO NEEDS TO DO COLA AND WHO NEEDS TO DO CORE? CORE is an annual examination that will replace your COLA requirement and the 10-year recertification exam. To enter CORE, you need to have a specific number of COLAs completed. You DO NOT need to enter CORE until your certification expiration year. You MUST enter
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THE PULSE SPRING 2021
CORE during your certification expiration year. You need to successfully complete eight COLA modules to enter CORE during your certification expiration year. You DO NOT need to start CORE early. If, and only if, you want to begin CORE early, you may enter the CORE with a pro-rated COLA requirement based on your certification expiration year. View the AOBEM Core phasein plan on the CORE homepage to learn more about your COLA requirement.
COLA MODULES The COLA modules are available on the AOA Online Learning Platform. Scroll to the bottom of the webpage and select APPLY NOW.
WHAT EXACTLY IS CORE? Taken annually, CORE is an online exam that can be completed anytime via the AOA’s Online Learning Platform. You may use the educational resources typically available to you in the emergency department. Yes, it is open book! Upon logging in, you will gain access to two exam sections: • Section 1: Two required core content modules • Section 2: Eight article-based modules. You are required to take and pass four of the eight modules Upon completing all six required modules (two core content and four article-based), you will complete a short survey and receive a certificate of completion. From time of sign-up, you have until the end of the year of the CORE administration to complete the exam. CORE 2021 application is open now and closes November 15, 2021. You have until December 1, 2021 to successfully complete the CORE 2021. A passing score of 75% is required for each module. You will have three attempts for each module, with the following stipulations: • You must wait one week after each attempt before retaking the same module. Be sure to take this into account when completing modules near the December 1 deadline.
