Phoenix Newsletter

November 2024

President’s Message: Giving Thanks to Family Physicians Nationwide

Our hearts go out to the communities in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and throughout the Southeast affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Many of us at ABFM have family and friends in these states and know how devastated Asheville, NC, and the surrounding counties remain to this day. Our colleagues—including many of the residents in these areas—responded quickly and creatively to the crisis. Access to electricity, cell phone and potable water has been limited, with repair complicated by damage to many roads. This will take years to recover from, long after the national press fades. As with the fires in California and other national disasters, family physicians, countless rescuers, and other workers have answered the call—including those that lent a hand or helped provide supplies for the affected regions. Thank you! Your service is inspirational.

Thank you also to all our veterans, including the many who have served as family physicians. The dedication you have for our country and the safety and health of our citizens is wonderful. We are grateful for your service.

Read the full President’s Message  here

Now Available: 5-Year Cycle Registration

Registration for the new 5-Year Cycle is now available to Diplomates with an exam requirement due in 2025. Although your exam requirement is due in 2025, you do not have to take the one-day exam and instead will begin the longitudinal assessment (exam) as part of the 5-Year Cycle on January 1, 2025.

Once you complete your current 3-year stage requirements, you can register within your MyABFM Portfolio. The new and improved registration process takes 20 minutes or less to complete and can be accessed by following the steps below.

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New in 2025: Redesigned Family Medicine Exam Blueprint

The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is excited to announce the implementation of a new family medicine exam blueprint beginning January 1, 2025. The new blueprint is designed to better align with clinical activities of today’s practicing family physician and to provide meaningful performance feedback that supports targeted learning. It is organized into five domains of care based on clinical activities rather than organ systems. Beginning in 2025, the one-day exam and longitudinal assessment, will be based on the new blueprint.

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Diplomate Stories: Family Medicine Around the World

Check out recent articles that highlight the great work of ABFM Diplomates and issues facing family physicians and the specialty.  Enjoy these great articles.

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Pisacano Leadership Foundation Announces 2024 Scholars

The Board of Directors of the Pisacano Leadership Foundation (PLF) is pleased to announce its selections for the 2024 Pisacano Scholarship. The scholarship, valued at up to $28,000, is awarded to U.S. medical students who demonstrate a strong commitment to the specialty of family medicine. As health care has transformed over the last few years, and the need for family medicine leadership has increased, the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) funded a doubling of the number of Pisacano scholars. Each scholarship applicant is evaluated on their commitment to family medicine, leadership qualities, academic performance, including evidence of clinical excellence and application of knowledge to clinical care, communication skills, and service.

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Thank You to the 2024 AAFP Family Medicine Experience (FMX) Attendees!

ABFM staff was excited to visit with Diplomates in person at this year’s American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) FMX conference in Phoenix, Arizona. Each year, we bring our program staff to assist Diplomates with their certification requirements and to share how they can become more involved with ABFM through volunteer opportunities. This year, a key focus was helping eligible Diplomates learn more about their transition to the new 5-Year Cycle that will begin January 1, 2025.

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Original Research Spotlight: Why do we still need physicians when powerful AI tools are available?

A recent American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) study in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine (JABFM), Performance Evaluation of the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT-4) on the Family Medicine In-Training Examination, compared the performance of GPT-4  on the 2022 ABFM In-Training Exam to its predecessor, GPT 3.5, and the national cohort of family residents. Researchers utilized both quantitative and qualitative analysis.

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We Want Your Input!

Earlier this year, ABFM launched a redesigned public website, inspired by valuable feedback from you. We also introduced several new features and curated content to enhance your experience.

To ensure we continue to meet your needs, we would greatly appreciate you taking a moment to complete a brief survey on the new public website. The feedback you provide will guide ABFM on changes needed to improve your experience. Please take the survey now.

Feedback Survey