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In this edition of News & Notes …

How the profession informs the content of ABIM’s exams

ABIM regularly conducts reviews of assessment blueprints to ensure they are reflective of what physicians see in practice. Specialties are each on their own review cycle, and several—including Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, Critical Care Medicine, Gastroenterology, Medical Oncology and Transplant Hepatology—are currently under review.

Blueprints provide an outline of what content will appear on an assessment and the relative percentage of the assessment covered by each topic area. Physician feedback is vital to the review process. If you receive an email with a survey asking for input on a blueprint, please take the time to respond.

The rigorous, formalized blueprint review process includes several steps to gather feedback from physicians, medical specialty societies and medical educators. This process includes gathering feedback from physicians through blueprint review surveys that ask how often physicians see a specific condition, disorder or disease, and the impact of misdiagnosing or providing improper treatment for that condition.

Depending on the feedback received during this process, the topics or the weight given to a topic on ABIM’s assessments may change. ABIM’s public blueprints, which physicians use to understand what will be on the assessment, will then reflect those changes.

How the blueprint review process works

ABIM’s specialty-specific Approval Committees initiate reviews by examining current blueprints, considering advancements, updating terminology and considering the relevance of each topic. During this process, Item-Writers will often provide feedback and societies provide their own perspectives on behalf of their members. In some cases, a full blueprint restructuring may be recommended, in others only minor revisions. The recommendations are given to the Specialty Boards and Advisory Committees in their respective disciplines for further review, discussion and development of the blueprint survey that ABIM sends to board certified physicians.

“Blueprint reviews are a critical way for ABIM to make sure every assessment accurately reflects what a physician in that specialty should know and will likely see in practice,” says Suzanne De la Cruz, Director of Test Development Operations. “We depend on physicians working in the field to inform us about what they see in practice, and what they believe are the most critical things for physicians in their specialty to know.” This is your chance to help ABIM shape assessments in your discipline.

After completion of the survey period, ABIM performs a thorough review of the data with two questions in mind: Does the blueprint represent the discipline and does it represent what physicians should know to care for their patients?

ABIM staff analyze the data and draft proposed percentages for each major topic on the blueprint, which ultimately translates to the proportion of questions on the assessment that will cover that topic. This information will be open for a public comment period for societies to weigh in on the final blueprint. Finally, all the information goes to the Approval Committees for another review and then to the Specialty Board or Advisory Committee for discussion and approval.

After the process is completed, ABIM publishes new blueprints on the website in January and they become effective for that year’s assessments.

While the blueprint review process captures a moment in time, ABIM recognizes that practice continues to evolve outside of the parameters of this process. Physicians have multiple pathways to provide feedback when working on an LKA, including commenting about specific questions, all of which helps ABIM and the Approval Committees refine questions and identify topic areas that need revision.

If you are interested in participating in the creation of assessments as an Item-Writer or an Approval Committee member, visit the openings page on ABIM’s website. If you have any questions about the blueprint review, feel free to reach out at ABIMBlueprintReview@abim.org.

Important certification and MOC dates

Enrollment and Registration

Enrollment for all assessments is currently open.

June 30, 2025: The last day to enroll in the LKA for 2025.

August 15, 2025: Enrollment closes for the fall 2025 traditional, 10-year MOC exam. The last day to request a special accommodation for the fall 2025 traditional, 10-year MOC exam*.

December 1, 2025: Enrollment opens for all 2026 assessments

LKA-Related

June 30, 2025: The last day to enroll in the LKA for 2025. Final day to answer LKA second quarter questions.  

September 30, 2025: The last day to answer questions in the third quarter.

October 1, 2025: Fourth-quarter LKA questions are available.

December 31, 2025: The last day to answer questions in the fourth quarter.

*These dates are only offered to candidates who have a documented disability requiring a special testing schedule, as provided under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please see the ABIM policy on Testing Accommodations for Exam Takers with Disabilities

Refresher: How ABIM’s MOC program works

As a board certified physician, you demonstrate to your peers and the public that you are staying current in your medical knowledge in a number of ways, including through the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. If you haven’t engaged in the program in a while or need a refresher on how it works, the best place to look is by signing in to your personalized ABIM Physician Portal. This graphic also provides an overview of the key components, including requirements, assessment options and cost.

Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®) Updates

More than 85,000 certificates are being maintained through the LKA, a number that is growing each year as more board certified physicians become eligible to enroll. More than 20,000 physicians enrolled in the LKA so far in 2025 with more than 7,500 enrolling in more than one LKA this year and more than 7,700 using the LKA to restore a lapsed certificate.
The LKA is being chosen over the traditional, 10-year Maintenance of Certification (MOC) exam at a rate of four to one, with participants citing the flexibility and opportunity to learn as you go.

“I was very worried the LKA would ask me questions about things I’m not doing right now, but the questions were very relevant and were about things I deal with all the time. With some of the questions I knew the answers immediately. Some I had to look up, but I could find the answer and read about it within the allotted time and get it correct.“

Dr. Susan Wolfsthal, University of Maryland

As the number of physicians choosing the LKA increases, more options are being introduced to help ensure the assessments reflect what physicians see in their daily practice. Last year, ABIM announced the development of five new focused LKAs in three specialty areas to launch in 2026

In addition, several enhancements to the LKA in 2025 were recently announced, including an additional minute to respond to questions (from 4 to 5 minutes) and rationales and references for each question, including pretest questions.

These enhancements were made based on physician feedback and a systematic best evidence-based review of the LKA. Not sure which assessment is right for you? This comparison chart might help. You can also read what other physicians are saying about their experiences.

The last day to enroll in the LKA for assessments due in 2025 is 6/30.

Physicians provide valuable feedback on ABIM programs and policies

Physicians play a critical role in shaping ABIM’s programs, ensuring they remain relevant, fair and aligned with the realities of modern clinical practice.

Physician-led Specialty Boards, Approval Committees and Item-Writing Task Forces create the blueprints that determine the topics of assessments and the questions themselves. They also keep ABIM abreast of important developments in each specialty.

Dozens more board certified physicians collaborate with ABIM to provide feedback. One key example of this collaboration is the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®) Physician Advisory Panel, which is in its fourth year with new members rolling on annually. Recommendations from the panel have resulted in a number of important changes:

• increasing the time allocated to respond to each LKA question by a full minute

• providing immediate feedback on all LKA questions

• simplifying the LKA post-question experience

• making it easier for physicians to provide feedback on LKA questions

Physician feedback has also led to several other meaningful changes at ABIM, perhaps most notably the elimination of the 2-year MOC point requirement.

All these enhancements reflect ABIM’s commitment to listening to the physician community and making changes aimed at delivering a certification program that better meets their needs. If you are interested in providing ABIM with feedback, consider joining the Community Insights Network to participate in panel discussions and surveys.