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Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee Meeting Summary | Spring 2025

August 12, 2025  |  Posted by ABIM  |  Specialty Board Meeting Summaries

Robert Stansbury, MD, Chair, Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee

The Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee, which meets twice a year and is responsible for oversight of policy and assessment in the specialty, held its spring meeting on May 13, 2025. Representatives from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) Sleep Medicine Network, the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Sleep and Respiratory Neurobiology Assembly (SRNA), the International Surgical Sleep Society and the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms joined for a portion of the meeting*.

The following is a summary of the spring meeting. Visit the ABIM Blog for reports of prior meetings. To share your feedback with the Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee on this report or other issues that are important to you, please complete this brief survey.

The cosponsoring boards and the Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee gratefully acknowledge the service of Ruth Benca, MD, Ph.D., Snigdhasmrithi Pusalavidyasagar, MD, Emerson M. Wickwire, Ph.D., and Kathleen Yaremchuk, MD, whose terms on the Advisory Committee ended on June 30, 2025.

Contents:

Advisory Committee Composition

The Advisory Committee comprises physician representatives of six American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member Boards (referred to as the “cosponsoring boards”) as well as two public members: one with a patient or caregiver background in the field and one with healthcare team member experience in the field. The Advisory Committee members are:

† Term started July 2025; not present at the spring 2025 meeting.

ABIM Leadership Update*

Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH, President and Chief Executive Officer of ABIM and the ABIM Foundation, joined the Advisory Committee to discuss progress on key initiatives and ongoing areas of focus for ABIM (the administrative board for the Sleep Medicine Certification and Maintenance of Certification Exams) including:

  • Exploring the alignment of ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirement due dates with the five-year Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®) cycle to help make the MOC program more reliably predictable.
  • Enhancements made to the LKA in response to feedback from physicians who identified areas for improvement, which are intended to keep the program relevant and effective.
  • Expanding ABIM’s engagement with stakeholder communities such as early career physicians, specialty societies and patient-focused organizations.
  • Upgrades to the ABIM website and Physician Portal for 2025 designed to make it easier for both physicians and the public to find information.

There were some questions for Dr. McDonald about how ABIM might consider adaptations of the LKA for physicians maintaining multiple certifications (common in sleep medicine) and ABIM’s role in reducing the spread of misinformation to the public. Dr. McDonald first noted that the LKA has not yet reached a full five-year cycle with its first cohort, so ABIM is still collecting data which could inform strategies to ease the burden on physicians participating in multiple LKAs.

Regarding misinformation, he emphasized the importance of certifying boards supporting evidence-based science and how organizations across the medical community are continuing to work together. The group also discussed the value of public engagement, including empowering physicians to educate patients and the broader community about board certification, and linking public physician profiles to ABMS Member Boards’ websites to verify certification status.

Diplomate Professional Profile*

The Diplomate Professional Profile is a questionnaire built into the ABIM Physician Portal and required of all ABIM Board Certified physicians every five years. (It is not currently available to physicians certified by the cosponsoring and qualifying boards.) The questionnaire gathers information about clinical work and practice patterns, and ABIM uses the information to help update assessment blueprints, develop policies for initial certification and MOC, and ensure diverse representation of the profession in research. To date, 44% of ABIM Board Certified physicians have completed the Diplomate Professional Profile.

Of note, 92% of physicians who completed the profile reported being clinically active, with the majority in private practice (37.9%), hospital- or system-owned practice (32.3%), hospital inpatient practice (20%) or academic faculty practice (18.9%). Of those, 42.3% belong to a multi-specialty group practice structure and 43% to a hospital or health system ownership model. Siddharta G. Reddy, MPH, Senior Research Associate for ABIM, explained that the profile only allows for physicians to choose one ownership model, so it would not necessarily reflect if they practice with an academic medical center that is also part of larger health system.

Community Practice in Governance*

Lorna Lynn, MD, Vice President of Medical Assessment Engagement, led a discussion with the Advisory Committee to help define community practice in the specialty to create a more inclusive understanding of its role and scope. She also sought input on overlapping aspects of community practice across the disciplines of internal medicine to inform ABIM’s recruitment efforts for broad physician representation in governance roles.

The Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee is composed of representatives of the cosponsoring boards (ABA, ABFM, ABIM, ABOHNS, ABP, ABPN), each of which appoints at least one physician member. ABFM and ABIM appoint two seats because of the relative proportion of physicians they certify. The Advisory Committee recommends various perspectives needed to contribute to the committee’s composition, including community practice, for each board to consider when appointing members.

Community practice is defined broadly in applications as “clinical practice in a non-university, community setting.” An ABIM workgroup convened in 2020 found that the existing practice categories candidates could choose did not fully capture the scope of community practice, and proposed updates drawn from the American Medical Association and the ABIM Diplomate Professional Profile.

The group discussed some of the nuances of defining practice types, such as federally qualified healthcare centers (FQHCs) that might not apply well to sleep medicine, and terms like “HMO” that may not reflect current practice patterns. One member suggested inviting applicants to specify the percentage of time they spend on patient care in community settings versus academic appointments. Another noted that some sleep medicine institutions in rural areas only conduct home sleep studies, which vary from other practices.

Advisory Committee Oversight of Assessment*

Each spring, ABIM’s 12 Specialty Boards and the two cosponsored Advisory Committees review data related to certification and assessment trends in their disciplines to help guide their decisions on assessments. At this meeting, the Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee received statistics on the current state of active certification in the discipline, assessment enrollment, demographics and pass rates, and data from post-assessment surveys. (Some data, such as exam pass rates and resident and fellow workforce trends, are publicly available on ABIM’s website.)

Notable data in sleep medicine show that 4,727 physicians have been certified by ABIM in the specialty, with 3,642 maintaining valid certification and 67% concurrently maintaining certification in internal medicine. Sleep medicine physicians often maintain multiple certifications, most often pulmonary disease (2,723) and critical care medicine (2,121) with a small number in hospice and palliative medicine. Of ABIM Board Certified physicians who were due for an assessment in 2024 and chose to take one, 20% opted for the Sleep Medicine LKA and 39% for the Sleep Medicine: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Emphasis LKA (a more focused version). Physicians certified in sleep medicine by cosponsoring boards chose the LKA at a rate of 54% and the OSA LKA at a rate of 23%.

The group discussed data that stood out from the report. First, they remarked on the rise in women, osteopathic-trained physicians and internationally trained physicians entering the discipline through initial certification exams, and whether that number would later reflect in those maintaining certification through exams in 10 years. The group noted that the first attempt pass rate for sleep medicine is 88%, which is somewhat lower than most other disciplines. Staff clarified that a portion of individuals who are unsuccessful on their first attempt do not retake the exam. When this population is excluded from the analysis, the first attempt pass rate rises to approximately 95%, aligning more closely with other disciplines.

Initial Certification and Training Data in Sleep Medicine*

The Advisory Committee also reviewed new data from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), Board Eligibility data, outcomes for candidates requiring retraining, ABIM faculty pathway pass rates and approved Advancing Innovation in Residency Education (AIRE) programs in sleep medicine. There is currently one AIRE program approved in 2019 sponsored by AASM with 39 participants at 14 institutions who are allowed to pursue part-time training or double-counting training. There was no significant discussion from the Advisory Committee members on this information.

AASM Innovative Fellowship Models Task Force

David Plante, MD, Ph.D., Chair of the Innovative Fellowship Models Task Force (IFMTF) then updated the Advisory Committee on the AIRE program, which was launched in 2017 to develop competency-based curriculum for part-time and blended sleep medicine fellowships. Since then, the program has developed mastery-based scoring and standardized assessment tools available for all fellowship programs and allowed a greater diversity of fellows to enter the field, including physicians trained in pulmonary disease, anesthesiology and pediatrics. To date, 27 fellows have completed training with a certification exam pass rate of 89%. On the Pulmonary Disease Certification Exam, the pass rate for blended fellows is 100%, indicating no negative impact on pulmonary training. Qualitative feedback has been positive with many physicians noting the program allowed them to pursue sleep medicine despite personal or financial barriers.

There are still challenges IFMAT is considering such as the long-term sustainability of these programs since support for the pilot program has come from the AASM thus far. The group also discussed potential future strategies to broaden the program to other specialties, while acknowledging the limits of blending across residencies and fellowships.

Later, the Advisory Committee voted to approve the AASM AIRE pilot program as an additional standard pathway to ABIM Board Eligibility. Next steps include additional deliberation among the Member Boards at the Sleep Medicine Cosponsoring Committee meeting. The AASM Innovative Fellowship Models Task Force will also follow up with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to seek approval of this competency-based curriculum as a standard training offering.

Innovations in Assessment

ABIM’s Research and Innovations Department has been leading a program of research on improving assessments through three main areas: supporting assessment staff efficiency, facilitating the item development process and enhancing the assessment experience for physicians. The Advisory Committee received an overview of the team’s current projects.

Society and other external organization representatives departed at this point in the meeting.

ABIM Approved Quality Improvement Program

The AQI Program is the process through which ABIM recognizes externally developed quality improvement activities that physicians are doing in practice. It also allows physicians to earn up to 20 MOC points for meaningfully participating in activities that support their local improvement priorities. Dr. Pusalavidyasagar reviewed the “Weight Management and Metabolic Health Program” proposal, sponsored by the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, and recommended it for approval. The program aims to address a gap wherein veterans are not receiving bariatric surgery or anti-obesity medications in conjunction with the nationwide “MOVE! Weight Management Program.”

After a brief discussion, the Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee voted to approve the AQI proposal for MOC credit. Any ABIM Board Certified physician who is a participant will be eligible to receive credit for this activity.

ABIM welcomes proposals from sponsors that may include medical specialty societies, hospitals or departments within hospitals, medical groups, clinics or other health-related organizations that wish to approve a single activity. Organizations with a quality improvement activity to submit to ABIM for MOC credit recognition are encouraged to take the following steps: 

  1. Download the ABIM AQI Program Guide (PDF). 
  2. Download and complete the AQI Application (PDF). 
  3. Email completed applications to mocprograms@abim.org.

Recommending Candidates for the Advisory Committee to ABIM Council and the Cosponsoring Committee

Each year, ABIM as the administrative board initiates the process to recruit candidates for open seats on the Advisory Committee. Each member serves a three-year term with the option for one renewal, and positions open on a rolling basis. ABIM posts all openings on its website and shares them with physicians and other stakeholder groups. The ABIM Council has final approval of physician members representing ABIM; the other ABMS Member Boards have final approval for physician members representing them. The Sleep Medicine Cosponsoring Committee, which oversees the Advisory Committee, has final selection of the public and interprofessional members. The Advisory Committee pays close attention to its own present and future composition, namely how practice setting and region, career stage, educational background (U.S., international), and race and ethnicity are represented among its members before selecting two candidates for each opening to recommend to Council, the cosponsoring member boards or the Cosponsoring Committee as the case may be.

In June 2024, ABIM issued notice about an opening on the Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee for an interprofessional healthcare team member (e.g., RN, NP, Pharm.D., PA) with experience in sleep medicine. At the spring meeting, the Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee discussed the candidates they had interviewed and voted on two candidates to recommend to the Council. The final appointee will be announced in summer 2025.

Blueprint Review

The blueprint is a document that defines the scope of content to be tested on ABIM assessments.  ABIM uses the blueprint to create Item-Writer assignments, assemble exams and maintain the item bank. Physicians can use the blueprint as a study guide to prepare for an assessment; ABIM also references the blueprint in exam performance reports. The Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee and the Sleep Medicine Approval Committees work together to update the Sleep Medicine Blueprints periodically, ensuring that changes reflect physician and society input, and that assessment content remains relevant to current clinical practice. Both the Advisory Committee and the Approval Committees comprise representatives of the cosponsoring ABMS Member Boards, so the perspectives of each respective discipline factor into the review process.

Staff reviewed ABIM’s plans to conduct an external blueprint review in 2025 via surveys of ABIM Board Certified physicians and diplomates of the cosponsoring Member Boards on the existing Sleep Medicine Blueprints. These plans include a draft of the new blueprints with proposed content outlines that incorporate feedback from sleep medicine societies and represent a shift in third-level and second-level categorizations to better focus on disease-specific content. After a committee member representing ABP expressed concern about ensuring adequate pediatric content on assessments, staff explained that ABIM uses a system to track items in the question bank and ensure balanced representation of pediatric content. The group also discussed how some questions fall under “Sleep in Other Disorders” to ensure a balanced inclusion of specific disorders, as some questions are transdiagnostic or not easily definable under one category.

The Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee voted to approve the suggested blueprint changes. The external blueprint review will start later in 2025, and sleep medicine physicians will be invited to participate.

Candidates for the Sleep Medicine Approval Committees

The Advisory Committee is responsible for selecting members and chairs of the Approval Committees annually and as needed. At the spring meeting, the Advisory Committee reviewed candidate materials and voted to approve Joseph A. Ramzy, MBBS, of St. Luke’s University Health System, to the Sleep Medicine LKA Approval Committee effective July 1, 2025.

Visit ABIM’s website for a full list of current openings.
Approval Committee openings are usually posted in the fall.

Updates from the Sleep Medicine Approval Committees

Catherine McCall, MD, Chair of the Sleep Medicine Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee, updated the Advisory Committee on the current composition and recent meetings of the two Approval Committees as well as the Item-Writing Task Force. The group discussed representation of the cosponsoring boards on the Item-Writing Task Force and the need for more physicians certified by other boards to join.

Physicians interested in serving on the Item-Writing Task Force can apply on the ABIM website.

Learn More

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Get Involved

Are you ABIM Board Certified and interested in getting involved? Apply to openings on ABIM Governance and the Item-Writing Task Forces and be part of shaping the future of ABIM’s assessments. Physicians certified by the cosponsoring and qualifying boards may also apply for openings on the Approval Committees.

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Get in Touch

The cosponsoring boards and the Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee value your feedback. Complete this survey to share your thoughts on this report and other topics important to you.

*Indicates society representatives were present for discussion on this agenda topic.

ABIM governance, Robert Stansbury, sleep medicine, Sleep Medicine Advisory Committee, Summary Report

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