Certificate of Added Qualification

Sleep Medicine Longitudinal Assessment

ABFM has partnered with the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) to offer the Sleep Medicine Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA) as an alternative to the one-day examination for Diplomates seeking continued certification.

How It Works

  • You will begin in the first quarter of the year your exam requirement is due.
  • You will answer up to 30 (four minute) questions each quarter for five years.
  • If performance at the end of five years is sufficient to reach the minimum passing standard, a new five-year cycle begins in year six and certification continues.
  • Questions can be answered in one or multiple sessions within the quarter.
  • You may skip up to 100 questions during the five-year assessment without impacting performance or enrollment.
  • Immediate feedback and critiques are provided for each question answered.
  • Quarterly performance summaries will be available at the end of the first year, so you may assess your performance and identify areas for future study.
  • You may review all answered questions in the “Review” section of the LKA dashboard.
  • Results will be provided following the end of year five.

The LKA for Sleep Medicine will assess the candidate’s knowledge and clinical judgement in aspects of sleep medicine required to demonstrate at a high level of competence. For more information about LKA content for Sleep Medicine, click here.


Eligibility Requirements

You are eligible if you are an…

  • ABFM Diplomate who is recertifying in Sleep Medicine in the year your exam is due.
  • ABFM Diplomate who wishes to regain certification in Sleep Medicine.*​

*Please note, if you enroll in LKA while not certified in Sleep Medicine, you will not regain your certification until you complete the assessment with a passing score .

You are not eligible if you are a(n)…

  • ABFM Diplomate pursuing initial certification in Sleep Medicine.
  • ABFM Diplomate who has not passed the Sleep Medicine LKA.
  • ABFM Diplomate who wishes to take the Sleep Medicine exam prior to the year your exam is due.
  • Physician who is not certified in family medicine by ABFM.

Application Information

To participate in LKA, you must complete an application to be reviewed and approved by ABFM, just as you have previously done for the one-day exam. There is no additional cost for LKA compared to the one-day exam. The online application can be accessed in your MyABFM Portfolio during the open application period. Visit the Sleep Medicine Important Dates page to review application deadlines.

ABFM provides reasonable accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). More information regarding accommodations can be found in the Candidate Information Booklet. If necessary, you may request accommodations after the application process is completed by submitting a written request to [email protected].

Candidate Information Booklet

To assist you with the Sleep Medicine application and results process, ABFM provides you with a Candidate Information Booklet that includes a comprehensive description of our requirements and policies.  We recommend that you read this thoroughly before beginning the application process.

2024


Participation Guidelines

While participating in LKA, you will receive up to 30 (four minute) questions each quarter that can be answered online in one or multiple sessions. The LKA also provides a bank of 30 additional minutes per year, which can be used in one-minute increments to add more time while answering a question.

The table below lists the begin and end dates for each quarter:

The assessment is delivered over five years. Completing the assessment and achieving a passing score will satisfy your exam requirement and enable you to maintain your CAQ in Sleep Medicine.


Ongoing Requirements

To remain enrolled in LKA, you must submit the annual CAQ certification fees and continuously maintain your family medicine certification. If you do not meet these requirements, you will be removed from LKA and lose certification in Sleep Medicine. Once removed from LKA, you are required to pass the one-day exam to regain certification in Sleep Medicine.


Scoring and Performance Feedback

Scoring

Questions that are viewed and answered will be counted as correct or incorrect. Questions that are viewed but not answered will be counted as incorrect. Questions that are not viewed during a quarter will not be scored but will count as a skip.

A skip is defined as a question that was available, but never opened. You may skip up to 100 questions during the five-year assessment without impacting performance or enrollment. If you exceed 100 skips, you will be removed from the Sleep Medicine LKA the following quarter and are required to pass the one-day exam before the end of the following calendar year to continue certification.

Immediate Feedback

After each question, you will be prompted to provide confidence and relevance ratings, then provided an immediate response indicating whether your answer is correct or incorrect, as well as the rationale and supporting references for the question. You may also review all answered questions later in the “Review” section of the LKA dashboard.

Ongoing Feedback

ABIM will provide an overview of your ongoing performance to identify areas of strength and weakness in the “Review” section of the LKA dashboard. Please note, your cumulative scaled score will not be provided until the beginning of your second year of participation.

Final Score

At the end of year five, a summative score will be calculated based on your overall performance throughout the assessment. If you achieve the minimum passing standard, certification will continue and a new five-year cycle of the Sleep Medicine LKA will begin. If you do not achieve the minimum passing standard, you will remain certified through the end of the sixth year but are required to pass the one-day exam to maintain certification in Sleep Medicine.

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