Allen Joseph Bard (1933-2024).

Father of contemporary electrochemistry.

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.

Headache Education in Adult Neurology Residency: A Survey of Program Directors and Chief Residents.

Objective: This cross-sectional study reassesses the status of headache didactics and clinical training in adult neurology residency programs in the United States to determine if program directors and chief residents feel that current training in headache is adequate.

Background: Headache is among the most common new complaints to both the neurology and primary care clinic and represents a significant economic burden. However, headache remains both under-diagnosed and under-treated.

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.

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.

State hospital-university collaborations: a 25-year follow-up.

Objective: A formative survey of psychiatry departments 25 years ago showed strong and valued relationships between these departments and state hospitals. The authors sought to evaluate the extent of present-day collaborative relationships.

Methods: A repeat of a similar survey was sent in 2005 to 119 chairs of departments of psychiatry.

Maintenance of certification in psychiatry.

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) developed 6 core competencies for physicians of all specialties and a maintenance of certification (MOC) program for board-certified physicians. The MOC program incorporates the 6 competencies into 4 component areas: professional standing, self-assessment and lifelong learning, cognitive expertise, and performance in practice. These 4 components are designed to promote a cycle of lifelong learning, self-assessment and peer review, and incorporation of best practices in order to improve the quality of health care in clinical practice.

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.

The ABPN Maintenance of Certification Program for psychiatrists: past history, current status, and future directions.

Objective: To describe the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) Maintenance of Certification Program, its underlying rationale, how it will be implemented now, and what it might look like in the future.

Methods: The authors describe the philosophical foundation, specific components, and the implementation timeline of the ABPN Maintenance of Certification Program; the development of specific products that might be used by ABPN diplomates to meet its requirements; and several unanswered questions about its current status and future development.

Results: The ABPN Maintenance of Certification Program consists of specific requirements pertaining to professional standing, self-assessment and lifelong learning, performance in practice, and cognitive expertise that will be implemented incrementally over the next decade.