Protecting the Validity of Assessment
A message from Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH, President and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) and the ABIM Foundation
You may be enrolled or planning to enroll in ABIM’s Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®) now or in the near future. As you participate, ABIM is asking for your help to protect the validity of the assessment and the integrity of board certification by reminding you of the policies prohibiting the disclosure of assessment content.
When you participate in the LKA, you sign an agreement to abide by ABIM’s policies and procedures, including “that [you] will not copy, reproduce or make any adaptations of such materials in any manner; and will not assist someone else in the infringement or misuse of these or any other ABIM-copyrighted works.” If you are taking the LKA, you also receive a reminder each time you log in to open questions.
These policies prohibit conduct that undermine the validity of the assessment, like importing full question text into AI tools, taking screenshots or sharing recalled questions in public discussion forums.
However, intentional or otherwise, instances of content-sharing occur and have real consequences because they put the validity of the assessment at risk for everyone.
ABIM uses statistical analysis and data forensics on all assessments to detect patterns that suggest topic- or question-sharing, or an examinee’s prior knowledge of questions. ABIM also monitors for content being shared outside of the assessment platform, including AI tools and online forums.
While the vast majority of participants are answering questions fairly and independently, a small number of individuals have been identified for engaging in conduct that violates ABIM’s policies. ABIM has notified these individuals and temporarily suspended their LKA access.
An even smaller number have been identified for violations of ABIM policy that are severe enough that they require invalidation of their LKA. ABIM has notified those individuals directly that they will no longer be able to participate in the LKA and must take a proctored exam to meet the assessment requirement.
In addition, ABIM diplomates should also bear in mind that violation of ABIM’s policies, including the Examination Ethics Policy and the Copyright and Assessment Non-Disclosure Policy, may subject the physician to disciplinary sanction, including suspension or revocation of their certification.
It is a hallmark of the profession that we as physicians take our ethical obligations seriously. ABIM will continue to act on instances of content-sharing and issue regular reminders about the importance of this policy to help ensure a fair assessment for all.
Nearly 90,000 physicians are participating in the LKA and the vast majority are doing so professionally and appropriately. To all of you, we say, thank you. ABIM is committed to offering the LKA and the flexibility to meet the assessment requirement without the need to use a testing center. For this to be possible, we rely on your professionalism to ensure that the LKA remains a valid assessment for everyone who participates by using it as intended and refraining from sharing assessment content in any form. The integrity of the credential and the profession depends on all of us.
Thank you for all you do as an ABIM Board Certified physician and for upholding the highest values of professionalism.
Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH
President and CEO
ABIM and the ABIM Foundation
Professor of Medicine
