Item-Writer Spotlight: Francisco Mercado, Jr., MD
ABIM is proud to spotlight members of the Item-Writing Task Forces, which are responsible for writing all of the content for assessments in each discipline of internal medicine. Learn more about the Item-Writing Task Forces and how ABIM creates assessment questions on the ABIM Blog. If you are interested in applying to serve as an Item-Writer, view current openings.
Francisco Mercado Jr., MD | Geriatric Medicine Item-Writing Task Force
Dr. Mercado completed his internal medicine residency at the State University of New York in Brooklyn, New York, before completing his geriatric medicine fellowship at the University of Hawaii. Dr. Mercado went on to complete a post-graduate certificate, “Training to Teach in Medicine,” at Harvard Medical School where he is currently in a research program. While participating in the post-graduate training, he gained a different perspective on teaching and completed a capstone project about implementing the phenobarbital-based protocol using innovative teaching techniques. He also worked on the following educational projects that were presented in Australia: “A six-step approach to a new curriculum implementation on diabetic foot disease management” and “Meeting the educational needs of doctors in training when obtaining informed consent to medical interventions: a perspective from Australian prevocational medico-legal education.”
Dr. Mercado has been on the Geriatric Medicine Item-Writing Task Force for one year. When asked what his favorite part of being an Item-Writer is, he said, “It is an opportunity to help in upgrading the quality of our specialists. It is also a very humbling experience to learn the skill of writing Board exam questions with constructive guidance from the experts. I took the role as a positive challenge and am now enjoying it. It is a unique way of ‘re-learning’ and ‘falling in love’ with your field again.” His advice to new Item-Writers is, “Be open-minded to feedback. It is a skill which we were not taught in training. There is a steep curve to improve, but it is possible to learn with the help of fellow experts. They are very supportive. I always look forward to our quarterly meeting as I learn much from fellow Item-Writers.”
In his free time, Dr. Mercado is an avid surfer and enjoys traveling to places where there are good surf spots. He tries to catch the waves three to four times a week but when he is unable to, you can find him swimming or working out at the gym.
