Applications for the American Board of Medical Specialties 2024-2025 Visiting Scholars Program are Now Available

Informational Webinar Scheduled for April 23, 2024

CHICAGO, April 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ --The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is now accepting applications for the 10^th year of its Visiting Scholars Program. This one-year, part-time program positions early-career physicians and research professionals as active contributors and future leaders in health care. Applications must be received by 11:59 pm CDT on June 17, 2024. Since the program's 2014 inception, 64 individuals have participated.

The ABMS Visiting Scholars Program allows participants to:

• Conduct research of value to their home institutions and the larger certification community.
• Strengthen research methodologies, data analytics, and overcome barriers in consultation with research mentors, scholar peers and alumni, ABMS leaders, and subject matter experts.
• Develop a robust professional network of national health care thought leaders, from specialty Member Boards, national thought leaders across the medical education curriculum, research mentors, peers, and alumni scholars.
• Engage with the ABMS Community through participation in ABMS Committee Meetings, Member Board Executive Forums, ABMS Stakeholder Council Meetings, ABMS-sponsored symposia, and other professional forums.
• Disseminate research nationally across the certification, medical education, and quality improvement communities.

The ABMS Visiting Scholars Program supports projects that seek to advance the research priorities of the ABMS Research and Education Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and co-sponsoring ABMS Member Boards:

• Diagnostic and prognostic excellence within and across medical specialties
• Adoption of competency-based medical education and assessments across certification programs
• Racial equity and diversity across the health care continuum
• Continuing certification programs impact on physician well-being
• Physician engagement with quality improvement and patient safety initiatives
• Additional research projects that seek to advance the ABMS Mission: To serve the public and the medical profession by improving the quality of health care through setting professional standards for lifelong certification in partnership with Member Boards. 

The 2024-2025 co-sponsor ABMS Member Boards are: Allergy and Immunology, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Radiology, Thoracic Surgery, and Urology.

During the program year, Scholars remain at their home institutions and work with self-selected mentors. At monthly virtual sessions, Scholars present their projects and provide updates to their peers, mentors, subject matter experts, and ABMS Visiting Scholar alumni. Scholars can present their research findings before a national audience at the 2025 ABMS Conference.

Early career physicians, junior faculty, fellows, and residents are eligible, as well as individuals holding master or doctorate degrees in public health, health services research, educational evaluation and statistics, public health policy and administration, or other relevant disciplines. Veterans Affairs trainees and staff are also welcome to apply. Student visas are not available. An award of $15,000 is provided to each Scholar to support the direct costs of research and travel expenses associated with program participation.

A free, hour-long informational webinar to learn more about the ABMS Visiting Scholars Program will be held on April 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm CDT. Learn more about the upcoming webinar and application process on the website. For additional questions, contact [email protected].

ABMS Visiting Scholars are selected based on the rigor of their proposed research project, the impact of their research on the ABMS mission and the certification community, and the alignment to the identified 2024–2025 research priorities. Applications developed in collaboration with one or more ABMS Member Boards are encouraged. Selected individuals will be notified in August 2024 and the program begins in September 2024.

About ABMS
Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is responsible for the creation of standards overseeing physician certification in the United States. Dedicated to improving the quality of care to the patients, families and communities they serve, the 24 ABMS Member Boards develop educational and professional standards and programs of assessment to certify physicians and medical specialists. More than 985,000 physicians and medical specialists are certified by one or more of the ABMS Member Boards in one or more of 40 specialties and 89 subspecialties. For more information about ABMS, visit abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.

SOURCE American Board of Medical Specialties