Diplomate Spotlight Opening Doors with Board Certification: A Conversation with Long Standing Diplomate Joseph Cook Read Opening Doors with Board Certification: A Conversation with Long Standing Diplomate Joseph Cook
Phoenix Newsletter - July 2025 Available Now: 2026 5-Year Cycle Registration Read Available Now: 2026 5-Year Cycle Registration
Home Research Research Library How Should Board Certification Evolve? How Should Board Certification Evolve? 2020 Author(s) Newton, Warren P Topic(s) Family Medicine Certification, Role of Primary Care, Achieving Health System Goals, and What Family Physicians Do Keyword(s) Cognitive Expertise, Performance Improvement, Practice Organization / Ownership, Professionalism, and Quality Of Care Volume Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Source Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Family Medicine was a child of the 1960s. Triggered by compelling social need for care outside of large hospitals, Family Medicine emphasized access to personal physicians based in the community. As a protest movement, the ABFP required ongoing recertification for all Diplomates, with both independent examination and chart audit. Fifty years later, society and health care have changed dramatically, and it is time again to consider how Board Certification must respond to those change. We propose three interlocking arguments. First, even before COVID-19, health and health care have been in a time of fundamental transformation. Second, given the role Board Certification plays in supporting improvement of healthcare, Board Certification itself must respond to these changes. Third, to move forward, ABFM and the wider Board community must address a series of wicked problems – i.e., problems which are both complex–with many root causes–and complicated- in which interventions create new problems. The wicked problems confronting board certification include: 1) combining summative and formative assessment, 2) improving quality improvement and 3) reaffirming the social contract and professionalism and its assessment. ABFM Research Read all 2025 The Impact of COVID-19 on Cervical Cancer Screening in Primary Care Go to The Impact of COVID-19 on Cervical Cancer Screening in Primary Care 2018 Re: The Numbers Quandary in Family Medicine Obstetrics Go to Re: The Numbers Quandary in Family Medicine Obstetrics 2022 Impact of COVID-19 on perinatal care: Perceptions of family physicians in the United States Go to Impact of COVID-19 on perinatal care: Perceptions of family physicians in the United States 2020 Using Machine Learning to Predict Primary Care and Advance Workforce Research Go to Using Machine Learning to Predict Primary Care and Advance Workforce Research
Author(s) Newton, Warren P Topic(s) Family Medicine Certification, Role of Primary Care, Achieving Health System Goals, and What Family Physicians Do Keyword(s) Cognitive Expertise, Performance Improvement, Practice Organization / Ownership, Professionalism, and Quality Of Care Volume Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Source Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2025 The Impact of COVID-19 on Cervical Cancer Screening in Primary Care Go to The Impact of COVID-19 on Cervical Cancer Screening in Primary Care 2018 Re: The Numbers Quandary in Family Medicine Obstetrics Go to Re: The Numbers Quandary in Family Medicine Obstetrics 2022 Impact of COVID-19 on perinatal care: Perceptions of family physicians in the United States Go to Impact of COVID-19 on perinatal care: Perceptions of family physicians in the United States 2020 Using Machine Learning to Predict Primary Care and Advance Workforce Research Go to Using Machine Learning to Predict Primary Care and Advance Workforce Research
2025 The Impact of COVID-19 on Cervical Cancer Screening in Primary Care Go to The Impact of COVID-19 on Cervical Cancer Screening in Primary Care
2018 Re: The Numbers Quandary in Family Medicine Obstetrics Go to Re: The Numbers Quandary in Family Medicine Obstetrics
2022 Impact of COVID-19 on perinatal care: Perceptions of family physicians in the United States Go to Impact of COVID-19 on perinatal care: Perceptions of family physicians in the United States
2020 Using Machine Learning to Predict Primary Care and Advance Workforce Research Go to Using Machine Learning to Predict Primary Care and Advance Workforce Research