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 Maintenance of certification and its association with the clinical knowledge of family physicians Maintenance of certification and its association with the clinical knowledge of family physicians 2013 Author(s) O’Neill, Thomas R, and Puffer, James C Topic(s) Family Medicine Certification Keyword(s) Cognitive Expertise, and Psychometrics Volume Academic Medicine Source Academic Medicine PURPOSE: To examine the relationship between maintenance of certification (MOC) and the clinical knowledge demonstrated by family physicians as they move further away from formal training. METHOD: Performances of 10,801 examinees-2,440 seeking initial certification; 8,361 seeking MOC-on the summer 2009 American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) certification examination were compared across 30 cohorts that represented recent residency program graduates and already-certified family physician diplomates with varying years of clinical experience. Experience was defined as the time in years since the year of initial certification. This study employed a natural-groups, cross-sectional design; however, it was used to draw longitudinal inferences. RESULTS: Family physicians who maintained certification performed better than recent graduates. They increased their examination scores by almost 17 points each successive time that they took the exam, with scores reaching their highest point 28 to 31 years after initial certification. Multiple comparison analyses confirmed that the trend was significant; however, subanalyses revealed that this trend remained significant only for U.S. medical graduates (USMGs) but not international medical graduates. Those family physicians that did not maintain their certification performed significantly worse than recent graduates. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that ABFM diplomates who are USMGs and maintain their certification perform better on the ABFM certification examination with additional years of experience until approximately 30 years after residency training. Read More ABFM Research Read all 2020 Shaping Keystones in a Time of Transformation: ABFM’s Efforts to Advance Leadership & Scholarship in Family Medicine Go to Shaping Keystones in a Time of Transformation: ABFM’s Efforts to Advance Leadership & Scholarship in Family Medicine 2022 Physicians’ Choice of Board Certification Activity Is Unaffected by Baseline Quality of Care: The TRADEMaRQ Study Go to Physicians’ Choice of Board Certification Activity Is Unaffected by Baseline Quality of Care: The TRADEMaRQ Study 2008 Value of information in virtual patients portraying pharyngitis Go to Value of information in virtual patients portraying pharyngitis 2015 Response: Re: Performance on the Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) Examination: Comparison of Initial Certifiers with Experienced Physicians Go to Response: Re: Performance on the Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) Examination: Comparison of Initial Certifiers with Experienced Physicians
Author(s) O’Neill, Thomas R, and Puffer, James C Topic(s) Family Medicine Certification Keyword(s) Cognitive Expertise, and Psychometrics Volume Academic Medicine Source Academic Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2020 Shaping Keystones in a Time of Transformation: ABFM’s Efforts to Advance Leadership & Scholarship in Family Medicine Go to Shaping Keystones in a Time of Transformation: ABFM’s Efforts to Advance Leadership & Scholarship in Family Medicine 2022 Physicians’ Choice of Board Certification Activity Is Unaffected by Baseline Quality of Care: The TRADEMaRQ Study Go to Physicians’ Choice of Board Certification Activity Is Unaffected by Baseline Quality of Care: The TRADEMaRQ Study 2008 Value of information in virtual patients portraying pharyngitis Go to Value of information in virtual patients portraying pharyngitis 2015 Response: Re: Performance on the Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) Examination: Comparison of Initial Certifiers with Experienced Physicians Go to Response: Re: Performance on the Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) Examination: Comparison of Initial Certifiers with Experienced Physicians
2020 Shaping Keystones in a Time of Transformation: ABFM’s Efforts to Advance Leadership & Scholarship in Family Medicine Go to Shaping Keystones in a Time of Transformation: ABFM’s Efforts to Advance Leadership & Scholarship in Family Medicine
2022 Physicians’ Choice of Board Certification Activity Is Unaffected by Baseline Quality of Care: The TRADEMaRQ Study Go to Physicians’ Choice of Board Certification Activity Is Unaffected by Baseline Quality of Care: The TRADEMaRQ Study
2008 Value of information in virtual patients portraying pharyngitis Go to Value of information in virtual patients portraying pharyngitis
2015 Response: Re: Performance on the Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) Examination: Comparison of Initial Certifiers with Experienced Physicians Go to Response: Re: Performance on the Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) Examination: Comparison of Initial Certifiers with Experienced Physicians