How the National Journal Club Works: A Step-by-Step Guide to Staying Current in Family Medicine

Keeping up with the latest medical literature is one of the most important things family physicians can do for their patients, and for their own professional growth. But between patient visits, administrative tasks, and the demands of daily practice, finding time to read and critically appraise peer-reviewed research can be a real challenge.

That’s where the ABFM National Journal Club (NJC) comes in. Designed to make it easier for family physicians to engage with practice-relevant research, the NJC is a free activity available in your MyABFM Portfolio that pairs curated journal articles with structured assessments, and rewards your effort with certification points and CME credit.

With 50 new articles now available, bringing the total NJC library to nearly 100 articles within the last year, there has never been a better time to explore what the National Journal Club has to offer. Here’s a closer look at how it works.

What Is the National Journal Club?

The National Journal Club is a self-assessment activity that gives Diplomates and residents convenient, no-cost access to peer-reviewed articles selected for their relevance to family medicine. It sits alongside the Knowledge Self-Assessment (KSA) and Continuing Knowledge Self-Assessment (CKSA) as one of several certification activity options in your MyABFM Portfolio.

Each article in the NJC has been reviewed and curated by a national committee of family medicine experts who evaluate and rank articles based on three criteria: relevance to practice, methodological rigor, and potential impact on patient care. The articles are drawn from prominent medical journals and span a wide range of clinical systems and topics common to family medicine.

How NJC Works: Six Steps

The NJC is designed to be straightforward and self-paced. Each article follows a consistent six-step process that guides you from topic selection through assessment completion. On average, each article takes between 60 and 90 minutes to complete.

What You Earn

For each successfully completed article assessment, you will earn one (1) certification point and one (1) CME credit toward your certification stage requirements. One completed article assessment will meet your self-assessment requirement.

If you have already completed your minimum certification activity requirement through other activities like the KSA or CKSA, you’re still welcome to participate in as many NJC articles as you like. The NJC is designed to be a valuable learning resource regardless of where you stand with your certification requirements.

Why the National Journal Club Matters

Family medicine is one of the broadest specialties in medicine and is constantly evolving. The NJC was created to help family physicians stay current with advances in medical literature, support shared decision making with patients and families, and feel more confident when advocating for their patients with subspecialists, health systems, and payers.

The ABFM National Journal Club allows you to engage with the literature on your own schedule, at your own pace, from anywhere. The structured assessment format ensures you’re not just reading passively – you’re actively processing and applying what you’ve learned.

What’s New: 50 Articles Now Available

ABFM recently released 50 new articles to the NJC library, joining the 48 articles that were already available. The new articles span a wide range of systems central to family medicine, such as cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, gynecologic, obstetric, and psychological conditions, as well as key clinical topics like diabetes, hypertension, infection management, and many more.

This expansion reflects ABFM’s ongoing commitment to providing Diplomates and residents with high-quality, practice-relevant resources that make board certification meaningful and relevant.