Professionalism, Licensure, and Personal Conduct

All currently certified Diplomates, as well as any family physicians seeking certification, are required to comply with these Guidelines to remain eligible for ABFM certification. The Guidelines establish ABFM’s expectations regarding personal conduct, medical licensure, and general adherence to the standards of professionalism. Specific requirements can be found in the Guidelines; below is a summary of the requirements.

Professionalism and Personal Conduct

This component emphasizes the importance of demonstrating honest, ethical, professional, and competent behavior and prioritizing patient safety and trust. You may be deemed in violation of the Guidelines if you misrepresent your ABFM Diplomate or Board Eligibility status, or if you have been involved in fraudulent activity, cheating or attempting to subvert an ABFM Family Medicine Certification Examination. For a more detailed description of the professionalism requirement, see the Guidelines.

The tenets of personal conduct refer to the primacy of being responsible to your patients, first and foremost, as well as maintaining respect for the law. Violations of personal conduct requirements are determined based upon criminal and/or related conduct and failure to timely and properly respond to ABFM inquiries about professionalism or licensure actions. For a more detailed description of the personal conduct requirement, see the Guidelines.

Licensure

According to the Guidelines, to obtain and maintain certification, a physician must either (1) hold a medical license which is currently active, valid and full in the United States, its territories, or Canada, and the physician should not be subject to any practice privilege limitations in any jurisdictions in the United States, its territories, or Canada, or (2) qualify to select and actually select the status of Clinically Inactive and hold either an Unlimited License, or a Qualified Clinically Inactive Medical License. Compliance with the Guidelines applies to any location in which you currently hold or previously held a medical license, regardless of whether or not you are practicing in the state, territory, or province. For all details related to the licensure requirement, a complete review of the Guidelines is advised.

Authority To Revoke Certification

ABFM reviews any professionalism or personal conduct violation as soon as we are made aware of any potential violation of the Guidelines. Once reviewed, we retain the right to revoke certification in the event a Diplomate is found to be noncompliant with the Guidelines.

Physician’s Responsibility to Report

It is your responsibility to inform ABFM in a timely manner of any potential concerns related to your compliance with the Guidelines. This includes any change in your licensure status or any breaks in continuous compliance with the Guidelines. Should you have any questions about your compliance with the Guidelines, a written inquiry should be made to ABFM through an email to professionalism@theabfm.org or postal mail.

Additionally, ABFM regularly reviews records from medical license boards and other Governing Bodies to ensure that all medical license actions are captured.