Over 4,700 Emergency Medicine Doctors Take Certification Exam in 2021 Bringing Expertise to their Communities

National Certification Board Adapted Their Exam to Bring Certification to Busy Physicians During the Pandemic and Beyond

News provided by

American Board of Emergency Medicine

Dec 15, 2021, 12:02 ET

EAST LANSING, Mich., Dec. 15, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- During the pandemic, emergency physicians have served as frontline responders to patients with COVID-19. Many of these physicians had completed all the medical training needed to become board certified and were waiting to take their final exams. Board certification is important to physicians and the communities they serve as certification indicates that they have met an independently determined national standard. Certification means they are uniquely qualified to treat patients in an emergency, which has been particularly important during this unprecedented time.

The pandemic also affected the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM), which administers the exams to become board certified in Emergency Medicine. In-person oral exams, the final step required for certification, were forced to be postponed.

ABEM made finding a way to get thousands of waiting physicians certified its number one priority. This priority reflects the importance of having a highly qualified group of physicians care for the American public when they are acutely ill and injured. In 2020, ABEM reimagined the process and developed an oral exam that could be delivered in a safe, secure, high-standard, virtual format. A herculean effort went into the creation and implementation of this new design. A modified Zoom platform, technological support, process logistics, security, training, and much more behind-the-scenes work took place to run a successful and rigorous exam. In the end, the innovative shift was a success.

The results:

8 exam administrations held over a 13-month period
Approximately 4,760 physicians took the virtual oral exam
430 clinically active emergency physician volunteers—participated

Over 11,600 hours, or 290 weeks, or over 5.5 FTEs of time were spent by examiners on training and administering the exam
Over 33,360 exam cases completed

ABEM thanks all emergency physicians who have served the public while maintaining the highest standards of care.

The American Board of Emergency Medicine certifies emergency physicians who meet its educational, professional standing, and examination standards.

Contact: AJ Wolf, [email protected]

SOURCE American Board of Emergency Medicine