News & Updates from ABEM

Do you have a passion for Emergency Medicine and a desire to give back to your specialty? ABEM offers several volunteer opportunities to participate in exam development and exam administration activities. Many ABEM volunteers have found that committing to ABEM exam activities allows them to build and maintain comradery. These activities promote personal and professional growth. When volunteers engage in activities about which they are passionate, they are more likely to stay committed to practicing within the specialty, not to mention the personal fulfillment and joy that volunteering brings.

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If you're interested in more volunteer opportunities, please view the options here.

ABEM is proud to announce the development of a new Certifying Exam for physicians seeking initial certification. Informed by feedback and a rigorous review process, the new exam will launch in 2026. The Certifying Exam will test additional competencies that are not tested on the Qualifying Exam or current Oral Exam, such as procedural skills, troubleshooting, and high-stakes communications. It will be comprised of two case types: Clinical care cases and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) cases.

Learn more about the Certifying Exam

The ABEM Executive Committee recently discussed developing additional opportunities for recognition of unique areas of expertise within Emergency Medicine. There is an ever-increasing need for Disaster Medicine and an even greater need for higher standards in this area. An application for a focused practice designation in Emergency Behavioral Health has been submitted to the Committee on Certification within the American Board of Medical Specialties. Finally, there appears to be growing interest in some type of recognition for Urgent Care Medicine. The opportunity impacts 70,000 providers, of which 12,000 are Emergency Medicine physicians. More updates will be shared in the upcoming months.

Variation in Oral Board Examination in JAMA Network
In Variation in Oral Board Examination Accommodations Among Specialties - JAMA Network, authors scored exam accommodation policies among medical specialty certification boards. In the study of 16 American Board of Medical Specialties Boards’ (ABMS) accommodations policies and procedures, considerable difference was found among specialties. Of the boards included in the study, ABEM scored the highest possible score for most accommodations provided. This score reflects the intentional efforts and work done to create a valid, reliable, and fair exam process for all Emergency Medicine physicians. To read our summary, visit here.

Dana G. Rowe, BA; et al. Variation in Oral Board Examination Accommodations Among Specialties. JAMA Network Open. May, 2024;7(5):e2410127. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.10127

Difficulty becoming ABEM-certified is associated with severe medical board licensure actions.
Reisdorff EJ, Johnston MM, Bhakta Y, Keim SM, Ankel F, Kraus CK, Barton MA, Ruff KC, Santen S. Association Between Certification Performance and Severe State Medical Licensure Actions. Oral Presentation at SAEM (May 15, 2024). SAEM24 Abstracts (59). Acad Emerg Med. 2024 Apr 27. doi: 10.1111/acem.14906.

More than half of the factors identified were related to interpersonal relationship and professionalism issues.
Tyler L, Bhakta Y, Kraus CK, Kowalenko T, Calderon Y, Keim SM, Gorgas DL, Diercks DB, Nelson LS. Factors for Corrective Actions, Remediation, and Termination of Emergency Physicians. Lightning Oral Presentation at SAEM (May 15, 2024). SAEM24 Abstracts (150). Acad Emerg Med. 2024 Apr 27. doi: 10.1111/acem.14906.

ABEM-certified physicians prescribed two to four times fewer opioids compared to non-ABEM physicians in all U.S. regions.
Bhakta Y, Tyler L, Joldersma KB, Geddes J, Kraus CK. Geographic Variation in Opioid Prescribing by American Board of Emergency Medicine-Certified and Other Physicians Practicing Emergency Medicine. Poster Presentation at SAEM (May 17, 2024). SAEM24 Abstracts (834). Acad Emerg Med. 2024 Apr 27. doi: 10.1111/acem.14906.