The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) based in East Lansing has introduced innovative modules that offer emergency physicians an adaptable way to maintain certification and stay current in their field without the traditional every-10-year exams.
MyEMCert modules are shorter and more frequent assessments that take away some of the stress and stakes of traditional exams while meeting the changing needs of physicians and maintaining the high standards required for certification.
“The transformation in our assessment provides a unique opportunity to engage emergency physicians in a format that is more convenient and flexible to meet them where they are — yet allows for deeper knowledge translation by facilitating learning, amplifying medical discoveries, and highlighting some of the most clinically relevant emerging literature,” says Marianne Gausche-Hill, president of the ABEM.
The modules are topic-specific and reflect real life cases; open book and to be completed anytime, anywhere; immediate score, answer, and rationale feedback; integrated learning that allows immediate retakes if a module is not passed on the first attempt.
MyEMCert keeps ABEM-certified physicians up to date on clinical policy alerts, practice advances, and suggestions from the literature via “key advances: that facilitate learning, amplify medical discoveries, and highlight clinically relevant emerging literature.
A pilot of approximately 1,500 physicians in 2020 was designed to ensure the modules were built to meet the needs of the field. In 2021, six modules were released, and two additional modules will be available in early 2022. ABEM-certified physicians need to pass four modules every five years to maintain their certification.
The ABEM states it is committed to ensuring its certification remains a leader in the specialty of emergency medicine, maintaining that emergency care is best delivered by physicians with emergency medicine training, experience, and certification.
