Geriatric Medicine Board Meeting Summary | Spring 2026
The Geriatric Medicine Board held its spring meeting on April 24, 2026. Representatives from the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) joined for a portion of the meeting*.
Geriatric Medicine is a cosponsored specialty certification with the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM). Physicians who obtain ABFM Board Certification in Geriatric Medicine may serve on the Specialty Board. Currently, ABFM is represented by Mandi Sehgal, MD, Chair of the Geriatric Medicine Board, who previously served as a member.
ABIM and the Geriatric Medicine Board gratefully acknowledge the service of Sunny Linnebur, Pharm.D., and Jessica L. Kalender-Rich, MD, whose terms on the Specialty Board ended June 30, 2026. Dr. Linnebur served as a public member of the Specialty Board starting in 2020. Dr. Kalender-Rich also joined in 2020 as a physician member.
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) 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®).
The group discussion on customized learning plans continued. Dr. McDonald shared that over 1,300 physicians have participated in the ABIM Data Download feature on MKSAP, with early career physicians representing the largest group of users. The Specialty Board discussed that if other professional societies were to explore customized learning plans for geriatric medicine with ABIM, consideration should be given to deploying them at the start of the fellowship year, given the variability in geriatric medicine training across both family medicine and internal medicine programs, and noted this timing could prove particularly valuable in guiding fellows’ learning.
The group also discussed the CBME special consideration pathway pilot and the rate of IMGs who maintain certification in internal medicine once they have subspecialty certification. Dr. McDonald noted that ABIM does not require any physician to maintain “underlying” internal medicine certification but acknowledged that the specialty of geriatric medicine is disproportionately affected by lapsed certifications. As the pilot continues and accumulates more data, ABIM will better understand how many physicians become certified in various subspecialties via this pathway and how many maintain those subspecialty certifications, particularly those physicians who may complete a subspecialty fellowship before entering subsequent subspecialty fellowship training in a distinct discipline.
Developing a Quality Agenda in Geriatric 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.)
On ensuring health equity for older adults, the group discussed how framing the topic too broadly risks missing opportunities to address specific manifestations of ageism, including barriers embedded in physical clinical environments and in assessment questions themselves.
Regarding medication management for older adults, the group discussed whether the current framing reflects a problem statement or an aspirational goal and discussed changing it to “Optimizing Medication Management for Older Adults.” Specialty Board members and guests also discussed vaccine uptake as an active clinical concern, and that Medicare Part B/D coverage gaps and declining pharmacy access are major structural barriers to vaccination in the physician’s office.
The group also discussed the quality of care for older patients as an aim for the Quality Agenda, homing in on transitions of care from hospitals and acute care settings as a potential area of focus.
Review the full Geriatric 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.
The Specialty Board discussed a broader definition of quality improvement engagement to ensure it reflects the full scope of what clinicians already do: “Actively engage in continuous, systematic quality and practice improvement efforts that produce measurable improvements in healthcare delivery, advancing care that is safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient, equitable and aligned with current professional knowledge.” The Geriatric Medicine Board indicated support for expansive, flexible definitions that reduce burden while capturing meaningful participation.
ABEM as a Qualifying Board for Geriatric Medicine*
The Geriatric Medicine Board discussed the request from the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) to become a qualifying board for geriatric medicine certification. Qualifying boards are Member Boards of ABMS whose diplomates are eligible for certification from other Member Boards. Diplomates who seek certification from other boards must meet all that board’s requirements for certification and Maintenance of Certification. In the case of the ABEM request, emergency medicine physicians seeking to certify in geriatric medicine through ABIM would be required to complete an ACGME-accredited geriatric medicine fellowship and pass ABIM’s Geriatric Medicine Certification Examination.
Questions from members included whether emergency medicine training provides the foundational preparation in longitudinal complex care that defines geriatric medicine competency, and whether the change could mislead the public about the relevance of this longitudinal aspect of geriatric medicine. The Specialty Board discussed that emergency medicine physicians seeking this pathway are not proposing to be called geriatricians; rather, ABEM’s intent is to open a pathway for those who wish to deepen their expertise in geriatric medicine to be able to apply this in clinical settings. Others noted that aspects of emergency care for older adults need structural improvement. They noted that expanding board eligibility alone may not achieve this aim and acknowledged that efforts are underway led by the Geriatrics Emergency Department Collaborative (GEDC) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) who are promoting adoption of the Geriatrics Emergency Department Accreditation (GEDA) program.
The group discussed how the proposal could increase awareness of geriatric medicine certification and attract more physicians to the field. They noted that emergency medicine residents are predominantly procedural and limited in ambulatory experiences, which would require more support for emergency medicine-trained physicians transitioning to geriatric medicine fellowships, which include substantial clinical experience in the outpatient setting. One member pointed out that surgery is increasingly interested in geriatric medicine, raising broader questions about how to approach additional specialties that may come forward with a similar request to become a qualifying board. The group agreed to explore the issue more deeply, gathering input from the geriatric medicine community before continuing the discussion on the question of expanding ABIM Geriatric Medicine Board Eligibility to ABEM diplomates who meet the training and all other requirements for the discipline that ABIM and ABFM diplomates must currently meet.
Oversight of Training in Geriatric Medicine*
Erica N. Johnson, MD, FACP, FIDSA, Senior Vice President for Academic and Medical Affairs, presented data on initial certification eligibility, match trends, board eligibility and outcomes data specific to geriatric medicine, including outcomes from the Special Consideration Pathways.
Discussion focused on the sustained decline in the number of filled fellowship positions. When asked whether geriatric medicine is the only specialty experiencing this trend, Dr. Johnson noted that infectious disease and nephrology have also seen declines, though not to the same degree. Geriatric Medicine Board members expressed concern that the CBME pilot pathway could inadvertently result in more internal medicine certifications without corresponding retention of geriatric medicine certification. Specialty Board members discussed the broader question of why geriatricians are not required by some institutions and health systems to hold board certification in geriatric medicine to practice as such and asked whether the Specialty Board could take an advocacy role; Dr. Johnson indicated this would require advocacy from the clinical community and that the specialty board could support this effort by providing education on the value of board certification.
Oversight of Geriatric 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.
The Geriatric Medicine Board reviewed population information, assessment overviews and recent discipline-specific data to inform future oversight decisions.
Geriatric Medicine Blueprint Review*
Staff presented the results of the completed first-round physician review of the Geriatric Medicine Blueprint and the Geriatric Medicine Approval Committee’s recommended changes to the blueprint. The Specialty Board engaged in detailed discussion of the proposed revisions, requested several other revisions and agreed to vote on the proposed blueprint after the Approval Committees make changes based on their feedback. The final revised blueprint is scheduled to be published on ABIM.org in January 2028 and all certified geriatricians will be notified at that time.
Society representatives departed at this point in the meeting.
Candidates for the Geriatric 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 appointed Danelle O. Cayea, MD, as chair of the Geriatric Medicine Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee.
Read more 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.
