Certification for the Next Generation: What Might the Future Hold?

Description: Initial certification programs vary substantially across the ABMS community, and the approach across many specialties has remained largely unchanged for decades despite the rapidly evolving landscape of medical education, emerging technologies, and the growing need to assess non-cognitive skills. As the certification and credentialing community grapples with these shifts, it is imperative to proactively review and adapt initial certification programs while upholding our commitment to the public's trust in physician standards.

In this session, leaders from the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) and the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) will provide a broad overview of the various approaches to initial certification and highlight the current challenges facing the ABMS community. This introduction will also outline how the concept of "Diffusion of Innovation" relates to the future of initial certification decision-making. This overview will be followed by a description of the recently completed "Future of Certification Summit" hosted by the ABP, including both the outputs and future directions from this summit. The session will conclude with a description of the new approach to initial certification program by ABEM, which represents the culmination of years of work on their "Becoming Certified Initiative."

An important theme throughout the entire session will be addressing assessment of complex communication, professionalism, and procedural skills, which are increasingly of interest to the public and other external stakeholders. This session will explore these and other assessments of the future to help outline a framework to help boards continue to strive to be the gold standard in certification.