PROFESSIONAlmost 80% of internists maintain board certificationTwo-thirds of physicians surveyed said patients and peers value board-certified doctors more than noncertified doctors.By Damon Adams, amednews staff. Jan. 30, 2006. Many internists who maintain their certification say they do so to uphold a professional image and to update their medical knowledge. Internists who do not participate say the process takes too much time and is too expensive. These and other findings of a new study tell internal medicine leaders that many internists value recertification, but that more work needs to be done to refine the process and educate physicians about how it works. "People have come back [to recertify] because it's a valuable thing for them. They don't seem to be doing it because it's required [for employment]," said lead study author Rebecca Lipner, PhD, vice president of psychometrics for the American Board of Internal Medicine. The ABIM and American College of Physicians collaborated on the study that appears in the Jan. 3 Annals of Internal Medicine. The groups conducted the national survey to find out what motivates internists to take part in maintenance of certification. They also wanted to understand why 23% of general internists and 40% of subspecialists are not renewing their internal medicine certificate, and to determine why 14% of subspecialists are not renewing their subspecialty or an added qualifications certificate. The results were culled from responses of 1,607 internists originally certified in 1990, 1991 or 1992. The findings: More than half said they participated in maintenance of certification to update their knowledge and maintain their professional image. About one-third recertified for personal preference or interest, or because it is required for employment. More general internists (42%) than subspecialists (20%) participate in maintenance of certification because it is required for work. [...]Full text of American Medical News content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2006 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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