ABPN’s Article-Based Continuing Certification Examination Begins This Year

A three-year Article-Based Continuing Certification (ABCC) pathway will begin this year for all American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) diplomates as a permanent alternative to the secure, proctored 10-year continuing certification examination.

The ABCC Pathway will be the default assessment option for all new diplomates entering the ABPN Continuing Certification Program in 2022 unless they choose the 10-year examination pathway.

“With the article-based continuing certification program, ABPN is striving to meet the needs of clinicians in practice,” said Christopher Thomas, M.D., (pictured above), in a session about the new pathway on Monday. “Rather than cramming for a 10-year exam, candidates who take the ABCC will learn in continuous three-year blocks of time. The article-based test really supports the aims of lifelong learning. It’s more adaptable to clinicians in practice and provides high-quality content and opportunities to expand their knowledge.”

Thomas is the Robert L. Stubblefield Professor of Child Psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. He was joined in the session by Robert Boland, M.D., vice chair of the Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Baylor College of Medicine and chief of staff at the Menninger Clinic in Houston. Both speakers are on ABPN’s board of directors for psychiatry.

The ABCC pathway is modeled on a pilot project, launched in 2019, in which eligible candidates who chose to participate were required to read a minimum of 30 journal articles but no more than 40 selected from a library of articles chosen for the project. They then had to answer four out of five questions correctly on the first attempt on a mini-exam for each of the journal articles they had chosen.

Data presented by Boland showed that 5,071 psychiatry and 933 child and adolescent psychiatry candidates participated in the pilot. Candidates reported high satisfaction:

• 96% said articles were easy to access.


• 93% said articles were helpful to clinical practice.


• 90% said the test was a fair assessment of the candidates’ understanding.


• 88% said questions were well written.


• 91% said the text experience was satisfactory.

Development of an alternative to the 10-year examination was an APA priority in negotiations with the ABPN because of member dissatisfaction with Maintenance of Certification requirements. The term “Maintenance of Certification” has been replaced by “Continuing Certification.”

Under the ABCC pathway, article exams and all other continuing certification activities and fees must be successfully completed for every three-year Continuing Certification block. Diplomates with multiple certificates may select either the ABCC or the 10-year examination pathway for each certificate. A diplomate is permitted to switch between the two pathways.

“For diplomates who choose the ABCC pathway, it will require a change in how you have been thinking [about continuing certification] previously,” Thomas said. “Everything will be tied into three-year blocks of time.”

ABPN’s website includes a new ABCC webpage and Physician Portal, as well as FAQs and additional details. The Physician Portal provides a personalized dashboard and timeline of continuing certification requirements and is the primary resource for a diplomate’s ongoing certification requirements, status, and deadlines.

“ABPN will continue to notify diplomates by email, quarterly updates, and the website about ABCC Pathway news,” Thomas said. “Diplomates who are invested in lifelong learning should look into the ABCC because it has a lot to offer.” ■