The purpose of the Self-Assessment and Lifelong Learning component of Family Medicine Certification is to help you identify your knowledge gaps and enhance your clinical knowledge and skills to provide high quality patient care.
For each completed ABFM-developed Self-Assessment activity, you will earn certification points and CME credits toward each of your 3-Year Stage requirements. Once you have fulfilled your minimum KSA requirement for your stage, you may utilize as many ABFM-developed Self-Assessment activities as you wish, for no additional cost beyond your annual certification fees.
You may access these activities through the Track Your Progress page in your MyABFM Portfolio.
Knowledge Self-Assessment (KSA)
The Knowledge Self-Assessment (KSA) is focused on evaluating and enhancing your knowledge base in a particular topic area common to family medicine. To successfully complete the assessment, you will need to answer 80% of the total questions in the assessment correctly. After you initially attempt the 60-question assessment, you will enter review mode, where you will be given a critique and a set of references, with the option to comment on each question. You may re-submit new answers to the questions you answered incorrectly.
After successful completion, you will earn 10 certification points and eight CME credits for each KSA.
National Journal Club (NJC)
This new service offers a convenient solution to access peer-reviewed articles to help you stay current with advances in medical literature, support shared decision making with patients and families, and advocate for your patients with subspecialists, health systems, and payers. As an added value, participation in National Journal Club offers you the opportunity to earn one (1) CME credit and one (1) certification point for each article activity completed; 10 completed journal article assessments will fulfill the minimum Knowledge Self-Assessment (KSA) requirement for each stage.
For more information, click here.
Alternative Activities
ABFM is proud to provide a diverse selection of alternative Self-Assessment activities for physicians who need to complete their stage requirements. We partnered with the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP), and the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) to make available activities on topics as broad as Maternity Care, Emergency Care, Health Equity and Care of Children. Take advantage of these unique opportunities detailed below and look for more coming soon!
These alternative activities are available and count toward your 50-point stage requirement; however, these activities do not count fulfill the minimum KSA requirement and may also include an additional cost to participate.
Care of Children (ABP)
Six (6) new alternative activities hosted by the ABP are now available in ABFM’s physician portfolio. These are available for a limited time of 12-20 months depending on the activity. The activities provide self-assessment on a broad range of topics including emotional health and resilience for patients and families with chronic pediatric conditions, endocrinology decision skills, youth suicide prevention and more. This alternative activity does count toward your required 50 certification points per stage; however, this activity does not fulfill the minimum KSA requirement.
Emergency Care
ABFM partnered with ABEM to offer a variety of Lifelong Learning Self-Assessment (LLSA) activities related to emergency medicine. These activities cover Medical Toxicology, Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services. To successfully complete these activities, you will need to review five (5) to seven (7) journal articles and complete a 20-35 self-assessment within three attempts. Each activity you successfully complete, will earn you 10 Family Medicine Certification points toward your 50-point stage requirement. To participate in these activities, you will need to submit a $50 registration fee per activity, and there may be an additional cost to obtain journal access. Take advantage of this great opportunity to earn certification points as you learn!
Health Equity
AAFP has made available five modules related to health equity titled: “Health Equity: Leading the Change.” These are: Addressing Health Equity, Social Determinants of Health, Supporting Vulnerable Populations, Championing Economics and Policy to Reduce Health Disparities, and Understanding the Impact of Climate Change on Population Health. For each completed activity, 2.5 points toward ABFM’s 50-point stage requirement. You may be eligible to earn CME from AAFP for completing this activity. These activities are available at no additional cost. Learn more about ABFM and AAFP's collaboration.
Maternity Care
ABFM is proud to support family physicians seeking to maintain or add the provision of maternity care to their scope of practice. Retroactive to Jan. 1, 2021, the AAFP’s Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO)® Provider Course is eligible for continuous certification credit. ALSO completion will be transferred automatically to ABFM for inclusion in your MyABFM portfolio. This option is not currently available to resident physicians.
Patient Safety (IHI)
As long as humans are practicing health care, mistakes will be part of our daily work. This suite of courses will introduce you to the fundamentals of patient safety and explain why making errors is human. You’ll dive into content about teamwork and communication, explore root cause analyses and the aftermath of adverse events, and discover the critical components comprising a culture of safety. Learn More.
Quality Improvement (IHI)
The goal of every health care provider and organization is to provide safe, timely, equitable, effective, efficient, and patient-centered care. Explore this suite of courses to learn how to apply the science of improvement — which includes aims, measures, and Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles — to make positive changes within the systems in your local setting. You’ll also learn about the psychology of change, and why introducing new ideas and processes often takes time, patience, and creativity. Learn More.
Faculty Development (IHI)
Medical residents are often the eyes and ears that witness the deficiencies in systems that provide care. This suite of one-lesson courses provides a step-by-step guide to embedding quality and safety into your residency training. With education about the Clinical Learning Environment Review (CLER) program, practical examples of successful programs, and an experiential learning opportunity, these courses will help you equip the next generation of physicians with skills to improve health care. Learn More.
Approved ABMS Member Board Self-Assessment Activity
If you have completed a self-assessment activity or successfully completed a CAQ with one of the 23 other ABMS Member Boards, you may request certification credit for completing that activity. If the activity complies with the ABFM guidelines, you will receive up to 10 Family Medicine Certification points. Check your MyABFM Portfolio regularly as new activities become available throughout the year. The activities listed will vary in the number of KSA points and/or CME awarded per activity. Those activities hosted by other organizations may require a small registration fee to participate.
Check your MyABFM Portfolio regularly as new activities become available throughout the year. The activities listed will vary in the number of KSA points and/or CME awarded per activity. Those activities hosted by other organizations may require a small registration fee to participate.
Continuous Knowledge Self-Assessment (CKSA)
The Continuous Knowledge Self-Assessment (CKSA) can help you continuously identify your personal strengths and weaknesses in medical knowledge and clinical decision-making within the framework of broad-spectrum family medicine. This is accomplished by completing 25 questions per quarter, delivered through your MyABFM Portfolio. Completing these can be done throughout the quarter in a manner that best suits your needs and schedule, whenever and wherever it is convenient for you.
There is no passing or failing for this activity. After each question you will be given the correct answer, a critique that explains why other options were incorrect, a set of references and the option to comment on the question. This information allows you to focus on subsequent CME in those areas.
CKSA questions are similar in format to those seen on the Family Medicine Certification Examination. Once you have completed 100 questions over four quarters, you will receive a performance report that will estimate your probability of passing the Family Medicine Certification Examination, along with your likely score.
After successful completion of each quarter, you will earn 2.5 certification points and 2.5 CME credits. If you participate in four quarters of CKSA, you will earn 10 certification points, satisfying your minimum KSA requirement for that stage.
