SAM Module Study Group

Slides from Preventive Care Module presented on February 16, 2012

Complete the Knowledge Assessment portion of this SAM module in a group setting. Scores are submitted to the ABFM electronically at the end of the session. You do not need to bring a computer to this session. More information about SAM Modules found below.

Date and Location

Next location and date TBD.

Fees

AzAFP/AAFP Members – $165.00

Non-Member – $195.00

Registration fees cover the costs of preparation, materials and lunch. This fee is separate from the fee charged by the ABFM to complete the clinical simulation segment.

Important Note: Fees paid to AzAFP do not include the ABFM Maintenance of Certification (MC-FP) fees. Participants in MC-FP will be required to pay MC-FP fees in order to complete the Clinical Simulation portion of the SAM module. Participants not in MC-FP who wish to receive CME credit for this session will be required to pay the ABFM the current SAM fee in order to complete the Clinical Simulation portion of the SAM module and prior to receiving CME credit. CME credit will be awarded by the ABFM upon completion of the Clinical Simulation segment.

Eligibility

Participants will only receive MC-FP credit for the module if:

  • They are currently eligible for and enrolled in the MC-FP process
  • Have not already completed the module topic that is being covered in the SAM Study Group
  • Have not already completed their current MC-FP Stage requirements
  • Successfully complete the Knowledge Assessment portion of the SAM module within the group or afterward if needed as well as the Clinical Simulation
  • They attend and fully participate in the educational discussion of the entire session

For more information about re-certification, contact the American Board of Family Medicine online at www.theabfm.org or call 888-995-5700.

After you register to join us for the SAM Study Group your information is submitted to the ABFM to verify eligibility. In the event that you are not currently eligible you will be contacted by the AzAFP.

News From The ABFM: July 21, 2010

ABFM Announces Further Enhancements to MC-FP

Changes Affect Part II, Part IV Requirements, Period of Certificate Validity

2010 can be considered a banner year for the American Board of Family Medicine, or ABFM, for at least two reasons. First, this year marks the completion of the staged, seven-year transition of all ABFM diplomates into the new recertification paradigm, Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians, or MC-FP. And second, the ABFM just announced it will introduce some major changes to MC-FP beginning next year.

According to a message from ABFM President and CEO James Puffer, M.D., in the summer 2010 issue (8-page PDF; About PDFs) of the organization’s newsletter, The Phoenix, the ABFM continues to seek ways to allow diplomates more flexibility in meeting MC-FP requirements. Since the program’s inception in 2003, ABFM leaders and staff have listened carefully to diplomates’ feedback and suggestions for improving the MC-FP process and have sought to accommodate their needs.

One recent change that has been overwhelmingly well received, Puffer says in the article, is giving ABFM diplomates the option to move from a seven-year to a 10-year MC-FP cycle. He adds that, to date, nearly all diplomates offered this opportunity have chosen the 10-year pathway.

“When we provided diplomates the opportunity to choose between either a seven-year or a 10-year MC-FP cycle, we suspected that the 10-year option would be appealing,” Puffer told AAFP News Now. “However, we have been gratified that more diplomates are willing to meet the more rigorous 10-year pathway requirements in trade-off for extending the time that they would be required to take the examination by three years.

“We believe multiple reasons exist to explain this phenomenon, not the least important of which is the opportunity to take one less examination over the course of a typical 30-year career.”

Currently, either option culminates with the administration of the cognitive examination (Part III).

However, in light of the many ways in which the MC-FP assesses diplomates’ competencies on an ongoing basis, the ABFM has determined that the examination need not be given as frequently as in the past. Therefore, beginning with those who certify or recertify in summer 2011, the ABFM will unlink the examination temporally from the MC-FP cycle, and diplomates may take it at any point in the cycle they choose. The results of the examination will be valid for 10 years.

In addition, diplomates will be free to choose how they wish to complete their MC-FP Part II self-assessment module requirements and their Part IV (e.g., the ABFM’s performance-in-practice modules; methods in medicine modules; and approved alternatives, such as the AAFP’s Measuring, Evaluating and Translating Research Into Care modules) requirements during each three-year stage of the MC-FP cycle.

Each module will be assigned a point value, and diplomates will be required to accumulate a sufficient number of points every three years. The precise total of points needed to satisfy the requirement has yet to be determined.

Diplomates can decide how they wish to accrue the required point total as long as the activity combination completed during the three-year stage includes at least one Part II module and one Part IV module.

Thus, under the new schema, diplomates will need to fulfill the following four requirements during each three-year stage of the MC-FP cycle to maintain certification:

  • meet ABFM licensure requirements (Part I),
  • complete Part II and Part IV activities totaling a set number of points in any combination (diplomates will continue to receive CME credit for this activity),
  • meet ABFM CME requirements (Part II), and
  • have performed successfully on the examination within the previous 10 years (Part III).
According to The Phoenix article, the coming changes to the MC-FP should permit the ABFM to begin issuing certificates without end dates next summer, a practice that the American Board of Pediatrics began this year and that the American Board of Internal Medicine expects to begin in 2011, as well. The validity of the new ABFM certificates will be continuous as long as diplomates have met the first three requirements above by the end of each three-year stage and have performed successfully on the examination within the past 10 years.

The article also notes that allowing diplomates the chance to complete multiple Part IV activities in each stage would permit them to participate in CMS’ Physician Quality Reporting Initiative or a health plan-sponsored pay-for-performance or physician recognition program each year and receive MC-FP credit for doing so if they choose to complete a corresponding performance-in-practice module.

Moreover, because the examination no longer will be tied to the end of the MC-FP cycle, a diplomate nearing the end of his or her career could time the administration of the examination so that the end of its 10-year validity coincided with his or her retirement date.

“One of the most important things that we learned from our diplomates during the initial transition to MC-FP was that they placed great value in completing their requirements on their schedules rather than ours,” said Puffer. “We believe that these new changes will add even greater choice and flexibility in how diplomates meet these requirements going forward.

“We look forward to testing these assumptions with family physicians in several focus groups at this fall’s AAFP Scientific Assembly before rolling out the improved program in the summer of 2011.”

Self-Assessment Module (SAM) Study Group FAQs:

What is a Self-Assessment Module (SAM)?

SAM is an important part of the ABFM’s Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) process. A SAM consists of 2 parts: a knowledge assessment and clinical simulation.

What is a Self-Assessment Module (SAM) Study Group?

Physicians who have entered the ABFM Maintenance of Certification cycle come together to complete the knowledge assessment section for the MC-FP SAM requirement. This group works through the 60 core competency questions assessing, reviewing, and deciding as a group the best answer.

How do I earn CME credit?

Twelve (12) CME credits are awarded for successfully completing each Part II Module. 15 credits will be automatically reported to the AAFP upon completion of the module.

What do I have to do after completion of the SAM Study Group?

Your next step is to go to the ABFM Website, pay the necessary fees, and complete the clinical simulation section. The clinical simulation section presents patient care scenarios corresponding to the topic module.