Association of internship with performance on American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation certification examinations.

Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) residents must complete twelve months of fundamental skills training prior to beginning PM&R residency. The objective of this study is to determine if characteristics of the first post-graduate year (PGY-1) impact performance on American Board of PM&R (ABPMR) initial certification examinations. A retrospective review was conducted on a deidentified ABPMR database of physicians who completed PM&R residency and took the Part I Examination between 2008 and 2022.

Incidence of Nonsynostotic Plagiocephaly and Developmental Disorders.

Importance: This is the first population-based study quantifying the incidence of nonsynostotic positional plagiocephaly and/or brachycephaly (PPB) in infancy and its association with developmental disorders.

Objective: To report the incidence of PPB before age 1 year, the incidence of craniosynostosis, and the percentage of children with PPB diagnosed with a developmental disorder by age 7 years.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This was a retrospective, population-based cohort study of children in the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) born in Olmsted County, Minnesota, from January 1, 2008, through December 31, 2012, with follow-up through age 7 years.

Spasticity Interventions: Decision-Making and Management.

Spasticity results from an abnormality of the central nervous system and is characterized by a velocity-dependent increase in muscle tone or stiffness. In children, it can cause functional impairments, delays in achieving developmental or motor milestones, participation restrictions, discomfort, and musculoskeletal differences. Unique to children is the ongoing process of a maturing central nervous system and body, which can create the appearance of worsening or changing spasticity.

Key Findings From Peer-Reviewed Published Research by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in Review.

Recognizing the dearth of published research on board certification in physical medicine and rehabilitation and its subspecialties, the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation has increased efforts to conduct and disseminate research in this area. This report summarizes key findings of peer-reviewed studies published by American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation staff and leadership in the past 6 yrs, including those conducted in partnership with other entities. The reported studies are organized in three main categories: initial certification, continuing certification, and subspecialty certification in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Taking Leave During Residency: Types of Absences and Subsequent Delays and Variations in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medical Board Pass Rates.

There is limited literature examining the reasons physical medicine and rehabilitation residents take an extended leave of absence during residency and the impact of leave on board examination performance. Such information could better inform leave policies, help guide residency program directors, and potentially destigmatize taking leave. Study objectives were to describe the characteristics of physical medicine and rehabilitation residents who take leave during residency, compare differences in part I (written) and part II (oral) certification examination performance, and determine the prevalence of delays in taking board examinations.

American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Diplomate Customization Choices on the Longitudinal Assessment for Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: A First-Year Experience.

The American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation began administering the longitudinal assessment for physical medicine and rehabilitation for continuing certification in 2020. The longitudinal assessment for physical medicine and rehabilitation digitally delivers quarterly short assessments of content and repeats missed items to facilitate learning as well as serve as a summative certification assessment. With a goal of offering content relevant to an individual's practice and learning needs, diplomates choose how to customize the domains or topic areas of their question content on an annual basis.

Why Do Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Physicians Lose American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Board Certification?

Objective: Physicians can lose board certification through revocation related to professionalism violations or expiration due to failure to complete continuing certification requirements. The purpose of this study was to analyze the causes of board certification loss for physicians with board certification through the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Design: This retrospective cohort study analyzed the certification status of 5541 American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation diplomates between 1993 and 2019 to determine reasons for certification loss.

Improving Patient Safety and Quality in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Through Participation in the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Continuing Certification Program.

The American Board of Medical Specialties Continuing Certification Program's Improvement in Medical Practice Standard requires physicians to participate in practice improvement activities. Despite this universal requirement, there has been no assessment of this requirement or its potential impact on patient care. Because of its continuing certification oversight structure, the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is in a unique position to provide this assessment.

Current status and trends in subspecialty certification in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Background: There is a need to better understand the overall state of sub-specialization in physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R).

Objective: To examine the status and trends in subspecialty certification for each of the seven subspecialties approved for American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) diplomates.

Design/setting: Retrospective analysis of deidentified information from the ABPMR database.

Pediatric telerehabilitation medicine: Making your virtual visits efficient, effective and fun.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many changes in medicine including the transition from providing care in person to providing care via technology enabled telemedicine. The benefits of telemedicine visits with a Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM) provider, also known as telerehabilitation medicine visits, are numerous. Telerehabilitation medicine provides an opportunity to deliver timely, patient and family-centric rehabilitation care while maintaining physical distance and reducing potential COVID-19 exposure for our patients, their caregivers and medical providers.

The Telemedicine Musculoskeletal Examination.

Telemedicine uses modern telecommunication technology to exchange medical information and provide clinical care to individuals at a distance. Initially intended to improve health care for patients in remote settings, telemedicine now has a broad clinical scope with the general purpose of providing convenient, safe, and time- and cost-efficient care. The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has created marked nationwide changes in health care access and delivery.

Safety and efficacy of (+)-epicatechin in subjects with Friedreich's ataxia: A phase II, open-label, prospective study.

Background: (+)-Epicatechin (EPI) induces mitochondrial biogenesis and antioxidant metabolism in muscle fibers and neurons. We aimed to evaluate safety and efficacy of (+)-EPI in pediatric subjects with Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA).

Methods: This was a phase II, open-label, baseline-controlled single-center trial including 10 participants ages 10 to 22 with confirmed FA diagnosis.

Association of Participation in the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Maintenance of Certification Program and Physician Disciplinary Actions.

Objective: The study analyzed the relationship between participation in the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation maintenance of certification program and the incidence of disciplinary actions by state medical boards over a physician's career. The hypothesis is that physicians who do not maintain their board certification have a higher likelihood of state medical board disciplinary actions.

Design: This retrospective cohort study analyzed American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation maintenance of certification data from all board-certified physiatrists who were enrolled in the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation maintenance of certification program from 1993 to 2007.

Should There Be A Part II ABPMR Examination?: A Psychometric Inquiry.

Background: Certification by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) requires passing both a written multiple choice examination (Part I) and an oral examination (Part II), but it has been unclear whether the two examinations measure the same or different dimensions of knowledge.

Objective: To evaluate the concordance between the Part I and Part II examinations for ABPMR initial certification with regard to candidate performance on the examinations and their subsets. Our question is whether the Part II examination provides additional assessment of a candidate beyond what Part I provides.

Is There Evidence of Gender Bias in the Oral Examination for Initial Certification by the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation?

Objective: Unconscious bias may result in a prejudicial evaluation of another person and lead to unfair treatment. Potential gender bias risk exists in the scoring process on the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation oral examination (Part II) because of the face-to-face interactions between candidates and examiners. This study was undertaken to determine whether performance on the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Part II examination differed based on candidate gender or configuration of examiner/candidate gender pairings.

Posterior Vertebral Endplate Fractures: A Retrospective Study on a Rare Etiology of Back Pain in Youth and Young Adults.

Background: Posterior lumbar vertebral endplate fracture occurs with avulsion of the ring apophysis from the posterior vertebral body. Although this has been described in adolescents and young adults, proper diagnosis is often delayed or missed entirely. Surgery may be curative.

Interdisciplinary aerodigestive care model improves risk, cost, and efficiency.

Objective: This study sought to evaluate the impact of an interdisciplinary care model for pediatric aerodigestive patients in terms of efficiency, risk exposure, and cost.

Methods: Patients meeting a standard clinical inclusion definition were studied before and after implementation of the aerodigestive program.

Results: Aerodigestive patients seen in the interdisciplinary clinic structure achieved a reduction in time to diagnosis (6 vs 150 days) with fewer required specialist consultations (5 vs 11) as compared to those seen in the same institution prior.

Predictors of Performance on the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Maintenance of Certification Examination.

Background: Maintenance of certification (MOC) in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation is a process of lifelong learning that begins after successfully completing an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited residency and passing the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) Part I and Part II Examinations. We seek to identify factors predictive of successful MOC Examination performance.

Objective: To identify characteristics predictive of successful completion on the ABPMR MOC Examination.

Performance of Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine Candidates on the Subspecialty Board Certification Examination from 2003 to 2015.

Background: Pediatric rehabilitation medicine (PRM) physicians enter the field via several pathways. It is unknown whether different training pathways impact performance on the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) PRM Examination and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Examination.

Objectives: To describe the examination performance of candidates on the ABPMR PRM Examination according to their type of training (physiatrists with a clinical PRM focus, accredited or unaccredited fellowship training, separate pediatric and physical medicine and rehabilitation residencies, or combined pediatrics/physical medicine and rehabilitation residencies) and to compare candidates' performance on the PRM Examination with their initial ABPMR certification and MOC Examinations.

How Do Candidates Perform When Repeating the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Certification Examinations?

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the likelihood of passing the Part I and Part II American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) certification examinations after initially failing.

Design: This was a retrospective review of candidates who had taken the ABPMR initial certification examinations between 2010 and 2014.

Results: Passing rates declined markedly with repeated attempts for both part I and part II.

Does Delay in Taking the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Certification Examinations Affect Passing Rates?

Objectives: The objective of this study was to examine whether a delay in initially taking the Part I or Part II American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation certification examinations influences the score or passing rates of candidates and whether enrollment in a subspecialty fellowship influences performance on the Part II certification examination.

Design: This was a retrospective review of first-time candidates taking the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation initial certification examinations from 2010 to 2014.

Results: Passing rates declined as candidates delayed the examination past the time of initial eligibility.