Skip to content
Suresh G. Nair, MD, Chair, ABIM Medical Oncology Board

The Medical Oncology Board, which meets twice a year and is responsible for oversight of ABIM policy and assessment in the specialty, held its spring meeting on April 22, 2025. Representatives from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 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 Medical Oncology Board on this report or other issues that are important to you, please complete this brief survey.

Special Announcement

The Medical Oncology Board is seeking a physician practicing in a non-university/community setting to join for a three-year term starting July 1, 2026. Applications are due July 20, 2025.

Contents:

ABIM Leadership Update*

Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH, President and Chief Executive Officer of ABIM and the ABIM Foundation, joined the Specialty Board to discuss progress on key initiatives and ongoing areas of focus for ABIM, including:

  • Exploring the alignment of Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirement due dates with the 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 and 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.

Some members of the Specialty Board remarked on the positive response from physicians to recent changes to the MOC program and the LKA, including the elimination of the every-two-year point requirement and the extension of the time limit on LKA questions. Others raised concerns about physicians’ mental health and challenges that researchers are facing in the current climate. Dr. McDonald noted that these changes, along with other enhancements being explored, demonstrate the organization’s commitment to transparency, reducing burden and collaborating with physicians.

Specialty Board Oversight of Assessment*

Each spring, the ABIM Specialty Boards review data related to certification and assessment trends in their disciplines to help guide their decisions on assessments. At this meeting, the Medical Oncology Board received statistics on the current state of active certification in oncology, 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.) Of note, 21,413 physicians have been board certified in medical oncology since it was first offered in 1973, with 16,221 currently maintaining valid certification, and 10,509 (64.8%) simultaneously maintaining dual certification in internal medicine. Many oncologists maintain multiple certifications, most often in hematology (9,280) and hospice and palliative medicine (297). Of medical oncologists who were due for an assessment and chose one in 2024, 77% opted for the LKA over the traditional, 10-year MOC exam, which is on par for the average across specialties.

The Specialty Board discussed how physicians rate the fairness and relevance of assessments in the post-assessment surveys, emphasizing the importance of aligning assessment content with current practice. ABIM staff plans to conduct further research to gain more specific insights into perceptions of fairness and to better understand what physicians consider when responding to this question. Currently, the question of fairness is broad, and deeper research will help surface more precise feedback that will lead to improvements in the assessments.

Initial Certification and Training Data in Medical Oncology*

The Medical Oncology Board also reviewed new data from the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), Board Eligibility data, outcomes for candidates requiring retraining, faculty pathway pass rates and approved Advancing Innovation in Residency Education (AIRE) programs in oncology. Pamela N. Munster, MD, Chair of the Medical Oncology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee, asked about whether assessment performance correlates with past academic performance. There are related studies, but staff noted this is an opportunity for researchers outside of ABIM to explore the question using data ABIM gathers and in collaboration with other institutions.

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. The questionnaire gathers information about clinical work and practice patterns, and ABIM uses the information to help update exam blueprints, develop policies for initial certification and MOC, and ensure adequately diverse representation of the profession in research. To date, 44% of physicians have completed the Diplomate Professional Profile with a higher completion rate of 46% among medical oncologists. Siddharta G. Reddy, MPH, Senior Research Associate for ABIM, reviewed aggregate data gathered so far related to medical oncologists, including practice setting, practice size and physician ownership of practices. Initial data show the prevalence of 89% clinically active oncologists with the largest populations in academic faculty (35%), private practice (26%) and hospital- or health system-owned practice (25%). The Specialty Board did not have further remarks on this information.

Community Practice in ABIM Governance*

Erica N. Johnson, MD, FACP, FIDSA, Senior Vice President for Academic and Medical Affairs, led a discussion with the Medical Oncology Board on 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.

Since 2013, ABIM Specialty Boards have been required to include at least one physician member primarily engaged in community practice, defined broadly in applications as “clinical practice in a non-university, community setting.” A workgroup convened in 2020 found that the existing practice categories candidates could choose were inadequate to the real scope of community practice and proposed updates drawn from the American Medical Association and the Diplomate Professional Profile.

The group discussed the evolving definition of community-based care with increasing complexity and system integration (see practice data above), and whether the American Board of Medical Specialties and other Member Boards can work together to reach a consensus on how to define it. One member pointed out the implications for patients who are facing limited access to cancer care, and the difficulty of finding specialists in community practice. Dr. Johnson noted that issues like this have begun to form the basis of discussion at other Member Boards.

Update from ASCO*

The group discussed efforts to recruit physicians for the Medical Oncology Item-Writing Task Force as ABIM works to develop focused versions of the LKA in breast cancer and hematologic neoplasms. Anne Grupe, Executive Vice President and Senior Director of Continuing Education for ASCO, shared that ASCO is supportive of collaborating with ABIM to ensure the task force has the number of specialists it needs to create content for the new assessments. Julia Close, MD, MBA, FASCO, Executive Vice President and Chief Education Officer for ASCO, also spoke about explorations of AI to improve educational platforms and better align learning with assessment.

Interested in creating content for assessments? Apply to join the Item-Writing Task Force.

Research Pathway*

The Specialty Board received an overview of the ABIM Research Pathway, a program for becoming Board Certified  in Internal Medicine or a subspecialty and recommended for physicians who intend to seriously pursue a career in basic science or clinical research. The program requires 24 months of internal medicine training, 36 months of research training and additional, relevant subspecialty clinical training. They discussed concerns that the pathway may not align with trainee expectations or interests and may contribute to trainee burden. They agreed on the need for improved preparation of trainees pursuing an academic career.

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 Medical Oncology Board received an overview of the team’s current projects. Dr. Close raised the point that medical education is grappling with effective use of AI as a tool for educating physicians, noting that AI is already useful for assisting recall and processing large amounts of medical information.

Annual Diplomate Report*

ABIM is looking into the potential for publishing annual reports of data that will highlight broad statistics across each discipline of internal medicine, both for a given year and historic trends over time. This would include the current number of physicians certified in each discipline and its geographic distribution, participation rates in MOC, demographic characteristics and assessment performance. While some of these data have been made available on request for research purposes, ABIM has never published a consolidated annual report. The Specialty Board and guests reviewed the data and raised several clarifying questions but did not propose any additions or deletions. Notable trends were discussed, including the growing number of osteopathic-trained physicians in the field and the underrepresentation of certain racial and ethnic groups. Staff noted that publication of the report may prompt further dialogue and research within the medical community to address disparities and explore opportunities for improvement.

Supporting Research and Important Issues in Medical Oncology*

Dr. Johnson led the Medical Oncology Board in a discussion about opportunities for ABIM Governance members to support important issues and research that demonstrates the value of board certification. Dr. Johnson asked the Specialty Board to identify current or emerging issues that affect health care in medical oncology, and to consider opportunities for the Specialty Board to address these issues within the appropriate framework of its oversight of the discipline.

The group raised a few concerns such as the effect of immigration and education policies on international medical graduates in training and lack or loss of resources in already under-resourced regions that are struggling to attract specialists. Some also noted concerns about fellowship programs that emphasize research over clinical training without preparing trainees for the balance of research and clinical time typically met with in an academic career.

Society representatives departed at this point in the meeting.

Recommending Candidates for the Specialty Board to ABIM Council

Each year, ABIM initiates the process of recruiting candidates for open seats on the Specialty Boards; 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 diplomates and other stakeholder groups. The Specialty Board 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. The ABIM Council makes final selections based on the Specialty Board’s top (one or two) recommendations for each open seat.

In June 2024, ABIM issued notice about two openings for physicians on the Medical Oncology Board for terms beginning July 1, 2025. At the spring meeting, the group discussed the candidates they had interviewed and voted on three to recommend to the Council. ABIM expects to announce the final appointees in July 2025.

The Medical Oncology Board has an opening for a physician practicing in a non-university/community setting for a term starting July 1, 2026. Applications are due July 20, 2025.
Apply on the ABIM website.

Candidates for the Medical Oncology Approval Committees

ABIM Specialty Boards are responsible for selecting members and chairs of the Approval Committees annually and as needed. At the spring meeting, the Medical Oncology Board reviewed candidate materials and voted to approve the following appointment:

  • M. Dror Michaelson, MD, Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital, to the Medical Oncology LKA Approval Committee

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

Learn More

Subscribe to the ABIM Blog to stay on top of the latest news.

Get Involved

Apply to openings on ABIM Governance and the Item-Writing Task Forces and be part of shaping the future of ABIM’s assessments.

Join the Community Insights Network to share feedback with ABIM through focus groups, surveys, user testing and more as we develop and refine our programs together.

Get in Touch

ABIM and the Medical Oncology Board value your feedback. Complete this survey to share your thoughts on this report and other topics important to you.

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