An ongoing dialogue on HIV/AIDS, infectious diseases,
September 8th, 2023
Endless Recertification in Medicine — Some Thoughts About the Tests We Take
The tests issued by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) for credentialing physicians are much in the news again. There’s even a petition circulating to eliminate the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process entirely, signed by nearly 20,000 physicians. I have a bunch of memories, thoughts, and feelings about ABIM and the tests they issue. They’re […]
September 1st, 2010
Testing your Testing Skills
Have I whined yet about how I’m part of the first Internal Medicine class that was not “grandfathered” through to eternal board certfication? If not, now I have. So for you fellow test-takers, here’s another one for you, adapted somewhat from this delightful experience I’m required to go through every 10 years. Oddly, just like the last one reviewed […]
March 14th, 2010
MRSA Bacteremia Question Redux — and the “Answer”
As noted here, I recently had to answer a question on management of MRSA bacteremia as part of an every-10-year cycle of test-taking. (For more on that joyous process, read this interesting debate here in the New England Journal of Medicine.) The question seemed to have no obvious right answer, so I did what one is explicitly allowed to […]
May 14th, 2008
Certification in HIV Medicine — Another Try
In March, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) issued a proposal for a “Maintenance of Certification” (MOC) pathway in HIV medicine for general internists. This is the second such special pathway ABIM is considering (the first was hospitalist medicine). Regardless of whether you agree with the proposal, it’s a good read, providing an excellent […]