Internal Medicine Board Meeting Summary | Spring 2026
The Internal Medicine Board held its spring meeting on May 12, 2026. Representatives from the Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM), the American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI), the American College of Physicians (ACP), the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM), and the Society of Hospital Medicine (SHM) joined for a portion of the meeting*.
ABIM and the Internal Medicine Board gratefully acknowledge the service of Ali Khan, MD, MPP, David Pizzimenti, DO, and Christopher Walsh, MD, whose terms on the Specialty Board ended June 30, 2026. Dr. Khan and Dr. Pizzimenti both joined the Specialty Board in 2020. Dr. Walsh also joined in 2020, having previously served on the former Internal Medicine Board Exam Committee (2016 – 2020) and simultaneously on the Internal Medicine Traditional, 10-Year Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Exam Approval Committee (2022 – 2025).
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:
- Customized learning plans via collaboration with the American College of Physicians (ACP) that launched in February. A new feature in ACP’s Medical Knowledge Self-Assessment Program (MKSAP) allows subscribers to import their most recent ABIM internal medicine assessment results directly into their account, which will suggest learning tools to build a tailored plan.
- Enhancing early career physician engagement through an interactive online community platform, tailored resources for residency programs and the creation of an Early Career Committee, which will begin meeting in July.
- Progress of the Competency-Based Medical Education (CBME) Special Consideration Pathway pilot for International Medical Graduates (IMGs), which has received more than 160 applicants to date. ABIM is using the pilot to test a model for board eligibility using a CBME framework, while removing barriers for physicians who meet the same standards as peers who completed accredited internal medicine training.
- The recently expanded blueprint review process, which involves a schedule of plans for updating blueprints in every specialty over the next several years. Practicing physicians in each specialty will continue to be invited to participate in updating each blueprint to reflect current practice.
- Recent communications about the importance of exam integrity and, in particular, the appropriate use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools on the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®).
Dr. McDonald spoke more about exam integrity—specifically on the LKA—and the integrity of the credential considering the expanded availability of AI. He clarified that any resource a physician would consult in practice, other than another person, is permissible for the LKA’s open-book format, but copying full question items and answer choices anywhere, including into an AI engine, constitutes a violation of copyright and the ABIM Code of Conduct for Participation in the LKA. (See Maintenance of Certification Policies.) He added that the vast majority of physicians are using the LKA appropriately.
The group discussed whether ABIM plans to develop exam or LKA items addressing the responsible use of AI in patient care. Dr. McDonald pointed out that ABIM’s mission is to certify internists who demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for excellent patient care, and that as responsible AI use becomes essential to standard practice, it may become part of assessment which is meant to reflect practice.
Davoren Chick, MD, FACP, Chief Learning Officer and Senior Vice President, Medical Education, for ACP, asked whether ABIM anticipates implementing novel forms of assessment in the near term, with particular emphasis on clinical reasoning or critical appraisal over knowledge and judgment. Dr. McDonald shared more about ABIM’s innovation work and its two main branches: improving the current assessment of knowledge and judgment, including the use of AI for blueprint mapping and distractor suggestion, and exploring assessment of competencies beyond medical knowledge. He emphasized that exploration would proceed broadly, but that no physician’s certificate would be at risk without lengthy study and validation, with earlier applications more likely in graduate medical education (GME) and continuing medical education fields. Dr. Chick added that ACP has already deployed AI-enabled communication feedback tools for conversations about obesity and alcohol use, both of which are in use in GME.
Developing a Quality Agenda in Internal Medicine*
As a next step in the development of a discipline-specific Quality Agenda, Specialty Board members engaged in breakout discussions to further refine the aims, drivers and relevant society strategies agreed upon by the Specialty Board and specialty society colleagues. The Quality Agenda is one of the standards for continuing certification issued by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) for all Member Boards in 2021. This standard requires that Member Boards “facilitate the process for developing an agenda for improving the quality of care in their specialties.” (ABMS Standards for Continuing Certification, p. 15: Requirements for Member Boards, 18. Quality Agenda.)
Staff reviewed the Quality Agenda template approved by the ABIM Council in fall 2025, which structures a series of aims around a name, problem statement, drivers and relevant society strategies, and noted that final Quality Agendas will be submitted to ABMS in June 2026.
Review the full Internal Medicine Quality Agenda.
Physicians Engaging in Improving Health and Health Care*
ABMS Standard 19 (ABMS Standards for Continuing Certification, p. 16) focuses on increasing the proportion of physicians engaged in improving health and health care, including quality improvement and patient safety. It requires ongoing reporting, increased participation and collaboration to ease engagement and reporting burdens. ABIM is not reintroducing a requirement for individual diplomates to participate in quality improvement activities. Instead, ABIM will look to increase engagement in and recognition of quality improvement activities through existing pathways. In addition, ABIM will develop and implement new opportunities to recognize and reward diplomate engagement in quality improvement under the expanded definition.
Laura L. Sessums, JD, MD, Chief Medical Officer, reviewed the current pathways by which ABIM counts quality improvement activity and discussed proposed expanded definitions of quality improvement. Various recommendations included the definition of quality improvement based on the SEPTEE model (Safe, Effective, Patient-centered, Timely, Efficient, Equitable) and the need to reflect measurable outcomes. Members also discussed expanding what counts toward engagement to include administrative and committee work, team-based contributions and leadership roles such as division chief and chief medical officer that represent continuous quality improvement.
Optimizing Resident Experience in Continuity Clinic
Dr. Wardrop welcomed Lauren Block, MD, Anne Cioletti, MD, and Jennifer Shiroky-Kochavi, MD, representing the Association of Chiefs and Leaders of General Internal Medicine (ACLGIM) Hess Initiative: Framing Intentional, Valuable Education in Primary Care (HI-FIVE PC) workgroup to present on improving primary care training within internal medicine residency.
Drs. Block, Cioletti and Shiroky-Kochavi reviewed national workforce data projecting a shortage of approximately 70,000 primary care physicians by 2038, and shared findings from Dr. Block’s published work in JAMA Internal Medicine that showed a substantial decline over the past decade in residents entering general internal medicine, including a 7.8% drop among residents in primary care tracks. They presented the workgroup’s recently published recommendations in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, organized around the pillars of continuity, team-based care and population health and aligned with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies. Highlighted evidence-based recommendations included a minimum of 140 half-day continuity sessions per resident, optimization of panel size for continuity, structured population health review and functional team-based clinic operations.
Oversight of Training in Internal Medicine
Michael Melfe, Director, Academic Affairs, presented information on the oversight of training in internal medicine. Participants reviewed initial certification eligibility data, match data, board eligibility data and outcomes related to Special Consideration Pathways (including the newest CBME pilot pathway) and applicable Advancing Innovation in Residency Education (AIRE) programs.
The group discussed the strong match performance in internal medicine and outcomes across categorical and combined training pathways. The discussion also addressed the usefulness of presenting data that help ABIM Governance members understand the current and future training pipeline.
Oversight of Internal Medicine Assessments*
A large part of the purview of the Specialty Board is oversight of the assessments. Each year, they examine data from assessments in each discipline. Members received population-level information, assessment participation updates and performance data to support informed decision-making and future assessment strategies.
ABIM psychometricians presented discipline-specific assessment information, including population data, pathway selection, demographic data and performance data from the Internal Medicine initial certification exam and the Internal Medicine and Internal Medicine: Inpatient LKA and MOC longform exams. Participants discussed patterns for both certificates, including pathway distribution across the LKA versus the traditional, 10-year MOC exam, as well as overlap among physicians holding multiple certificates. Participants reviewed themes related to assessment fairness, item quality, topic relevance and the importance of keeping resources and references current in rapidly evolving fields, including shifts in enrollment patterns following the 2024 transition from Focused Practice in Hospital Medicine to the Internal Medicine: Inpatient assessment options.
Candidates for the Internal Medicine Approval Committees
Specialty Boards are responsible for selecting incoming members and chairs of the Approval Committees in advance of new terms that begin in July of each year and as seats become vacant for other reasons. Following a review of the candidate materials and a candidate interview, the Specialty Board made the following new appointments:
- Internal Medicine LKA Approval Committee: Jennifer Stichman, MD, as a new member
- Internal Medicine Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee: Heather L. Burton, MD, as the new co-chair; Chad H. Martins, MD, as a new member; Rohan Sen, MD, FACP, as a new member
Read about all new governance appointments as of July 1, 2026.
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*Indicates that society representatives were present for discussion of this agenda topic.
