Development and Results of the First Certification Examination in the American Board of Medical Specialties Neurocritical Care Subspecialty.

This article reviews the development of the American Board of Medical Specialties subspecialty in neurocritical care (NCC) and describes the requirements for certification and the results of the first certification examination administered in October 2021. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) is the administrative board, and the sponsoring boards are the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM), American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and American Board of Neurological Surgery. The American Board of Medical Specialties approved the subspecialty in 2018, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education developed and approved the training requirements in 2021.

An Article-Based Format for Medical Specialty and Subspecialty Maintenance of Certification.

Introduction: This article describes an article-based alternative for maintenance of certification that the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology developed and began pilot testing in 2019. The rationale for and components of the pilot program are presented along with data on participant performance and feedback from the first year of implementation in three primary specialties (neurology, child neurology, and psychiatry) and one subspecialty (child and adolescent psychiatry).

Methods: Evaluation of the pilot program was guided by a widely used validity framework.

The Development and Current Status of Subspecialty Training and Certification in Addiction Psychiatry.

Objective: This article describes the evolution of subspecialty training and certification in addiction psychiatry. The impact of the newer subspecialty in addiction medicine is also addressed.

Methods: Information about programs and trainees was obtained from records of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Training in Neurology: Feedback from Graduates About the Psychiatry Component of Residency Training.

Objective: To obtain feedback from early career adult and pediatric neurologists about the psychiatry component of residency training.

Methods: A survey was developed and administered electronically to 4 cohorts of recently certified American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology diplomates.

Results: The response rate was 16% (431/2,677) and included 330 adult neurologists and 101 pediatric neurologists.

Subspecialization in clinical neurophysiology: Development and current status.

Objective: To describe the development and current status of training and certification in clinical neurophysiology (CNP); to explore the impact of the newer subspecialties in sleep medicine, neuromuscular medicine, and epilepsy; and to obtain information about aspects of practice in the subspecialty.

Methods: Information about training programs and certification was obtained from the records of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and diplomates were surveyed about their CNP practice activities and attitudes toward certification/recertification.

Results: In the years since the first examination was administered, a robust number of CNP training programs developed, but recently, there has been a decrease in the number of programs and fellows, although the number of programs and fellows in the subspecialties of epilepsy, neuromuscular medicine, and sleep medicine has increased.

Primary Care and Neurology in Psychiatry Residency Training: a Survey of Early Career Psychiatrists.

Objective: A survey of recently certified psychiatrists was conducted to obtain their feedback about the contribution of the primary care and neurology components of residency training to their professional development and to their current needs as practitioners.

Methods: A 22-item survey was developed based on issues discussed at a forum on residency competence requirements and administered electronically to four cohorts of recently certified psychiatrists.

Results: The response rate was 17% (1049/6083).

Subspecialty Training and Certification in Geriatric Psychiatry: A 25-Year Overview.

Unlabelled: The Institute of Medicine estimated that by 2030, from 10.1 to 14.4 million Americans aged 65 years or older will have mental health or substance use disorders.

Performance of Certification and Recertification Examinees on Multiple Choice Test Items: Does Physician Age Have an Impact?

Introduction: The development of recertification programs (now referred to as Maintenance of Certification or MOC) by the members of the American Board of Medical Specialties provides the opportunity to study knowledge base across the professional lifespan of physicians. Research results to date are mixed with some studies finding negative associations between age and various measures of competency and others finding no or minimal relationships.

Methods: Four groups of multiple choice test items that were independently developed for certification and MOC examinations in psychiatry and neurology were administered to certification and MOC examinees within each specialty.

Validity and feasibility of the EMG direct observation tool (EMG-DOT).

Objective: To develop a new workplace-based EMG direct observation tool (EMG-DOT) and gather validity evidence supporting its use for assessing electrodiagnostic skills among postgraduate medical trainees.

Methods: The EMG-DOT was developed by experts using an iterative process. Validity evidence from content, response process, internal structure, relations to other variables, and consequences of testing was collected during the 2013-2014 academic year.

Comparison of Certification and Recertification Examinee Performance on Multiple-Choice Items in Forensic Psychiatry.

Research on the association between age and performance on tests of medical knowledge has generally shown an inverse relationship, which is of concern because of the positive association between measures of knowledge and measures of clinical performance. Because the certification and maintenance of certification (MOC) examinations in the subspecialty of forensic psychiatry draw on a common item bank, performance of the two groups of examinees on the same items could be compared. In addition, the relationship between age and test performance was analyzed.

Clinical Skills Assessment: The Effects of Moving Certification Requirements Into Neurology, Child Neurology, and Psychiatry Residency Training.

Background: A few years ago, when the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology decided to phase out the patient-based oral examinations in its 3 primary specialties, requirements for assessing clinical skills during residency training were instituted.

Objective: The purpose of this report is to describe the experiences of training program directors and graduates with these new credentialing requirements (labeled CSEs) as well as other effects on the specialties.

Methods: Surveys were administered electronically in 2012 to all current neurology, child neurology, and psychiatry program directors, and to a convenience sample of graduates who applied for the 2012 certification examinations.

Technical skills assessment toolbox: a review using the unitary framework of validity.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to create a technical skills assessment toolbox for 35 basic and advanced skills/procedures that comprise the American College of Surgeons (ACS)/Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) surgical skills curriculum and to provide a critical appraisal of the included tools, using contemporary framework of validity.

Background: Competency-based training has become the predominant model in surgical education and assessment of performance is an essential component. Assessment methods must produce valid results to accurately determine the level of competency.

Relationship between performance on child and adolescent psychiatry in-training and certification examinations.

Background: Studies across a range of specialties have consistently yielded positive associations between performance on in-training examinations and board certification examinations, supporting the use of the in-training examination as a valuable formative feedback tool for residents and residency programs. That association to date, however, has not been tested in child and adolescent psychiatry residents.

Objective: This is the first study to explore the relationship between performance on the American College of Psychiatrists' Child Psychiatry Resident In-Training Examination (CHILD PRITE) and subsequent performance on the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology's (ABPN) subspecialty multiple-choice examination (Part I) in child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP).

Association between performance on Neurology In-Training and Certification Examinations.

Objective: This study analyzed the relationship between performance on the American Academy of Neurology Residency In-Service Training Examination (RITE) and subsequent performance on the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Certification Examination.

Methods: Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the relationship between performance on the RITE and the Certification Examination for 2 cohorts of adult neurologists and 2 cohorts of child neurologists. The 2 cohorts represented test takers for 2008 and 2009.

Recent trends in american board of psychiatry and neurology psychiatric subspecialties.

Objective: this article reviews the current status and recent trends in the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) psychiatric subspecialties and discusses the implications of those trends as well as several key questions whose answers may well determine subspecialty viability.

Methods: data are presented on specialty and subspecialty programs; graduates; and ABPN certification candidates and diplomates drawn from several sources, including the records of the ABPN, the websites of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Medical Association, and the annual medical education issues of JAMA.

Results: fewer than half of psychiatry graduates pursue subspecialty training.

Trends in American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology specialties and neurologic subspecialties.

Objective: To review the current status and recent trends in the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) specialties and neurologic subspecialties and discuss the implications of those trends for subspecialty viability.

Methods: Data on numbers of residency and fellowship programs and graduates and ABPN certification candidates and diplomates were drawn from several sources, including ABPN records, Web sites of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Medical Association, and the annual medical education issues of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Results: About four-fifths of neurology graduates pursue fellowship training.

Relationship between Resident-In-Training Examination in psychiatry and subsequent certification examination performances.

Objective: This study analyzed the relationship between performance on The American College of Psychiatrists' Psychiatry Resident-In-Training Examination (PRITE) and the ABPN Part 1 examination.

Methods: Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the relationship between performance on the 2002 PRITE and the 2003 Part 1 examination for 297 examinees.

Results: The correlation between the PRITE global psychiatry and the Part 1 psychiatry scores was 0.

Certification in neuromuscular medicine: a new neurologic subspecialty.

Information is provided concerning the new subspecialty certificate in neuromuscular medicine of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the eligibility requirements for such certification of practicing neurologists and child neurologists. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has approved fellowship training in the subspecialty, and it is likely that residents who wish to pursue a career in neuromuscular medicine will select this training option.

Certification in neuromuscular medicine: a new neurologic subspecialty.

Information is provided concerning the new subspecialty certificate in neuromuscular medicine of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and the eligibility requirements for such certification of practicing neurologists and child neurologists. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has approved fellowship training in the subspecialty, and it is likely that residents who wish to pursue a career in neuromuscular medicine will select this training option.

Certification in child neurology: new directions for the twenty-first century.

The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology was formed in 1934, and the first certifying examination was administered in 1935. It was not until 1969 that the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology began conducting certifying examinations in child neurology. Since then, 10 child neurologists have served as American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology directors and nearly 1500 child neurologists have been certified, more than 200 of whom have also attained certification in the subspecialties of clinical neurophysiology, neurodevelopmental disabilities, and pain medicine.

Assessment of psychopharmacology on the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology examinations.

Objective: To report the assessment of psychopharmacology on the certification and recertification exams in general psychiatry and in the subspecialties administered by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN).

Methods: The ABPN's core competencies for psychiatrists were reviewed. The number of items addressing psychopharmacology or neuropharmacology was determined for each examination.