Pulmonary Disease Board Meeting Summary | Fall 2025
The Pulmonary Disease Board held its fall meeting on September 30, 2025. Representatives from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST), the American Thoracic Society (ATS), the Association of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Program Directors (APCCMPD), the College of Health Care Professions (CHCP) and the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM) joined for a portion of the meeting*.
The following is a summary of the spring meeting. Visit the ABIM Blog for reports of prior meetings.
ABIM Leadership Update*
Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH, President and CEO of ABIM and the ABIM Foundation, discussed progress on ABIM’s strategic initiatives, including:
- Enhancements to the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®), such as the possibility of expanded eligibility, developing focused versions in some specialties that will launch in 2026, and exploring additional focused versions in other specialties for the future
- Expanding ABIM’s Assessment and Research Division with the appointment of Eric J. Warm, MD, MACP, as the inaugural Vice President of Research Strategy, advancing collaboration and research to link certification with improved outcomes
- Supporting early career physicians and international medical graduates (IMGs) with the needs-based certification exam fee assistance program and the competency-based medical education (CBME) special consideration pathway pilot for IMGs
- Recognizing board-certified physicians at key career milestones, such as attaining more than 30 years of certification, and an end-of-year wrap-up for LKA participants
- Advancing innovation in assessment through new technology and society collaboration
Discussion centered on the CBME pilot pathway for IMGs, which received 45 applications only weeks after launch, which is a robust response. Dr. McDonald emphasized the pilot’s competency-based foundation and added that the first candidates would be eligible to register for the 2026 Internal Medicine Certification Exam.
Addressing concerns about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in assessments, Dr. McDonald acknowledged the anxiety surrounding AI but explained that the LKA is designed for physicians to use real-world resources responsibly while maintaining core knowledge foundations.
Health Equity Update*
ABIM remains firmly committed to advancing health equity, as reflected in a joint statement by the ABIM Board of Directors and the ABIM Foundation Board of Trustees dated June 2025. ABIM continues to work in the areas outlined in the Equity Statement: developing health equity content for assessments, working to ensure that assessments are fair and conducting research to advance assessment strategies. ABIM also maintains collaborations with medical specialty societies working to advance health equity. During this session, staff highlighted both the progress achieved and the challenges that remain in ABIM’s ongoing health equity efforts.
Diplomate Professional Profile*
The Pulmonary Disease Board reviewed the status of ABIM’s Diplomate Professional Profile (DPP), a survey that ABIM Board Certified physicians are asked to complete every five years via the Physician Portal. Data gathered from the DPP will inform exam blueprint updates and help Specialty Boards understand what physicians are doing in practice.
The Pulmonary Disease Board examined workforce demographics, practice settings and emerging trends, including the impact of private equity ownership on pulmonary practices. Specialty Board members suggested adding questions about household health insurance and rural practice to capture patient access issues better and analyzing exam performance trends by training pathways. Lorna Lynn, MD, Vice President of Medical Assessment Engagement, noted the value of linking DPP data with blueprint survey results to minimize survey burden on physicians.
Lynn T. Tanoue, MD, MBA, Chair of the Pulmonary Disease Board, emphasized the importance of pipeline questions, especially considering the workforce decline in general pulmonary practice following COVID-19. Pulmonary Disease Board members also recommended incorporating questions on burnout and healthy work environments, as interest in this topic remains strong.
Pulmonary Disease Blueprint*
ABIM and the Pulmonary Disease Approval Committees began the public blueprint review process this fall for the Pulmonary Disease Blueprint. The blueprint is a table of content specifications in each specialty used to outline the content areas and their approximate percentages for a typical assessment. During this process, any physician certified in Pulmonary Disease with at least 50% of their professional time devoted to clinical activities is invited to respond to a survey about the frequency and relevance of topics on the blueprint, which informs the content on the assessment. Dr. Tanoue emphasized the significance of this work, which is intended to reflect the breadth of pulmonary practice. Participants observed that aligning blueprint content with DPP findings would enhance the relevance of practice.
Focused Assessments*
Rebecca S. Lipner, Ph.D., Chief Assessment Science Officer at ABIM, provided an update on ABIM’s exploration of focused versions of the Pulmonary Disease LKA. She clarified the distinction between focused assessments and general assessments: focused assessments are a version of the general assessment with a higher proportion of content in a given area of the specialty identified by surveying physicians and societies and through analysis of Medicare data. Pulmonary Disease Board members agreed on the importance of survey design and discussed ways to engage society partners in promoting participation. Dr. Tanoue anticipates final decisions on whether there will be focus areas, and, if so, in which specific areas, by mid-2026, following a review of the data.
Nutrition in Assessment*
The Specialty Board discussed the role of nutrition in patient care and assessment, emphasizing the importance of basing decisions to expand nutrition content in ABIM exams on sound scientific principle. Currently, the amount of nutrition content in assessments varies across specialties.
Specialty Board members supported the importance of nutrition in chronic lung disease, citing obesity, asthma, cancer and cystic fibrosis as examples. Society representatives offered to share existing educational content on nutrition counseling and education. The Specialty Board discussed exploring continuing medical education opportunities through post-meeting surveys and agreed that while ABIM must remain guided by evidence, nutrition represents a cross-cutting issue warranting consideration in future blueprints and assessment design.
Workforce and Career Challenges for Pulmonary Disease*
Pulmonary Disease Board members and society representatives discussed the physician workforce pipeline, career-stage needs and the engagement of early career physicians. ABIM has undertaken efforts to understand and better meet the needs of early career physicians through summits, surveys and listening sessions. This work will continue to be an organizational priority. Society partners from CHEST and SCCM expressed interest in collaborating on dedicated tracks for early career physician engagement. Dr. Tanoue emphasized the importance of ABIM sustaining connections with physicians after they complete their initial certification. At the same time, Specialty Board members identified mid-career physicians as another group that requires additional support.
Society guests departed at this point in the meeting.
Candidates for the 2026 Pulmonary Disease Board
ABIM issued a notice in June about openings for pulmonologists on the Pulmonary Disease Board for terms beginning July 1, 2026. Specialty Board members review applications and interview candidates, and at the fall meeting voted on two for each opening to recommend to the ABIM Council, which makes the final appointments. ABIM expects to announce appointees in July 2026.
Initial Certification Procedures
The Pulmonary Disease Board transitioned into a detailed discussion of procedural requirements for initial certification eligibility. Using feedback from physicians and program directors, Specialty Board working groups have developed draft recommendations regarding competencies in procedures such as bronchoscopy and related procedures, pleural procedures and point-of-care ultrasound. Specialty Board members discussed the initial set of recommendations regarding procedural requirements. They advised previewing the initial recommendations with program directors before sharing them for a final public comment.
Interventional Pulmonology
The Pulmonary Disease Board has recommended that a proposal from the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP) to recognize interventional pulmonology as a subspecialty of pulmonary disease with its own distinct certificate be further considered by ABIM, based on its alignment with criteria established in New and Emerging Disciplines in Internal Medicine (NEDIM-2) report. The Specialty Board learned more about potential practice pathways that could be implemented, and the work ABIM is undertaking to better understand the results of a diplomate survey conducted earlier in the year about support for the proposal. The ABIM Council will consider the proposal next, as well as the community vetting process undertaken by the Pulmonary Disease Board, which expressed support for continued development of clear eligibility standards.
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*Indicates that society representatives were present for discussion on this agenda topic.
