The ABFM National Journal Club Committee: Instrumental in Helping To Develop New Self-Assessment Activity

The American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) is excited to announce the launch of its new National Journal Club pilot in the summer of 2021. This will be an additional option for Diplomates to receive Self-Assessment activity credit and will not require payment beyond the annual certification process fee. The ABFM National Journal Club will provide approximately 100 articles annually for Diplomates and residents to utilize as a way to keep up with contemporary, practice-changing evidence.

Physicians can choose from among these articles the topics of greatest interest and relevance for their practice. Each article will require participants to demonstrate mastery by correctly answering four questions provided for each article. All article assessments that are completed will earn certification points once a post-activity evaluation is completed.

The aim of the ABFM National Journal Club is to help family physicians keep up to date, support shared decision making with patients and families, and empower family physicians to advocate for their patients with subspecialists, health systems and payers. ABFM’s approach builds on the work of other American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) boards and seeks to advance the methodology of journal article activities with structured literature searches, emphasis on methodologic rigor, and a requirement of mastery.