Diplomate Digest - The American Board of Ophthalmology Blog

Congratulations to American Board of Ophthalmology Diplomate Lawrence Najarian, MD, of Bedminster, NJ, who received the 2019 Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Awarded annually to distinguished citizens who exemplify a life dedicated to community service and extraordinary accomplishments in their field, Dr. Najarian was one of 94 medalists recognized this year. In a May 11 ceremony held inside Ellis Island’s historic Great Hall, the original registry room and gateway for 12 million

Are you using the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s (AAO) IRIS® Registry to examine your performance on quality measures? If so, your data could serve as the foundation for an American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) Improvement in Medical Practice project for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit--one that also counts toward the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System (MIPS). In a recent EyeNet article, the AAO outlines the specific steps you should take to create a project

Since the launch of the Quarterly Questions program, you've answered more than 100,000 questions! You've also asked the ABO some great questions of your own about the program, such as: Is the Quarterly Questions program actually replacing the DOCK Examination for MOC? Do I have to study before taking Quarterly Questions? In this quick, downloadable Q&A, we answer the diplomate community's most common inquiries about the Quarterly Questions program. #quarterlyquestions #FAQs #

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Visiting Scholars Program is a one-year, part-time program that is intended to provide exposure to the fields of professional assessment, quality improvement, and regulatory policy while promoting research and scholarship in areas related to Board Certification and Continuing Certification that are important to the ABMS Member Boards Community. The American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) is a founding Member Board of ABMS and is

In a recent post for Forbes, author, physician, and behavioral scientist Peter Ubel writes about something that may be coming between you and your patients—your computer. He cites two studies that analyzed physician time. Both found results you may already expect—that doctors spend as much as half their working hours using EHRs and less than half their time on direct patient care. “Good medical care depends upon creating work environments that motivate clinicians to spend tim

The American Board of Ophthalmology will award its first-ever John G. Clarkson, M.D. Quality Improvement Award to diplomate Shree Kurup, M.D., this fall for his efforts in creating a project to improve patient compliance with follow-up dosages of immunosuppression medications. The Clarkson Quality Improvement Award celebrates the passion, pride, and professionalism exemplified by American Board of Ophthalmology diplomates in their efforts to continuously improve the practice

It is with deep sadness that the American Board of Ophthalmology notes the passing of William H. Spencer, M.D., Director of the Board from 1974 to 1981 and Executive Director of the organization from 1986 to 1995. Dr. Spencer was born in New York City in 1925. His enthusiasm for ophthalmology was lifelong. As a child, Dr. Spencer had been treated for a hypermetropic accommodative squint in his left eye by an uncle who was an ophthalmologist. From him, Dr. Spencer learned how

The American Board of Ophthalmology is now accepting online applications from qualified internationally trained ophthalmologists who practice in the United States and wish to become board certified. Applicants interested in entering the program in 2017 have until November 1 to apply. Current eligibility requirements for the ABO certification process include completion of residency training in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical education (ACGME)-accredited training

In a new blog post published by Ophthalmology Times, Florida diplomate Joshua Mali, M.D., highlights the American Board of Ophthalmology's Quarterly Questions Pilot Program as one of ophthalmology's top stories of the year. He writes: "As a board certified ophthalmologist and ABO diplomate, I am currently using the pilot program and find it to be fantastic. I encourage all board certified ophthalmologists to consider utilizing it in their maintenance of certification." Click

In the September issue of the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology, American Board of Ophthalmology Director Sophia Chung, M.D., and Emeritus Director Philip Custer, M.D., F.A.C.S., urge neuro-ophthalmologists to become “leaders in the culture of patient safety.” Drs. Chung and Custer trace the history of patient safety in the subspecialty and provide recommendations on how neuro-ophthalmologists can bridge the divide between neurology and ophthalmology to enhance safety for patien

Oklahoma ophthalmologist Ann Acers-Warn, M.D., MBA, will join the American Board of Ophthalmology as a Director beginning in January 2018. Her four-year term begins in January and is renewable for an additional four years. As a Director of the ABO, Dr. Acers-Warn will contribute to the development of certification standards and assessments for new and practicing ophthalmologists, participate in organizational governance, and monitor operational performance. The appointment of

The American Board of Ophthalmology is pleased to announce three changes to the upcoming article-based portion of the pilot, which begins October 1 in Q4. The article-based portion requires reading five articles from a list of 15 options and answering two questions per article (a total of 10 questions). The Q4 article-based questions focus on the application of knowledge and will be different from the 40 core questions already provided. What’s Different? More Time: You will h

Thank you to our 2017 Exam Development Volunteers for their work in developing and reviewing content for American Board of Ophthalmology assessments. The following diplomates have contributed to the Written Qualifying Examination (WQE), Oral Examination, Demonstration of Ophthalmic Cognitive Knowledge (DOCK) Examination, and/or the new Quarterly Questions pilot program. These volunteers will step away from their busy practices to travel to Philadelphia from September 14-17 to

“Busy busy.” That’s the usual answer I get from my 82-year-old mother when I ask her how she is doing. One often hears the same refrain from colleagues who have retired, as they inexplicably find their schedules more crowded than when they were working. And it is a universal theme amongst the diplomates who have participated in the multiple focus groups we have conducted during the past several months. We had that truism in mind when we drafted our fourth mission-supporting p

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Have you tried the American Board of Ophthalmology’s newest pilots for improving practice performance and assessing ophthalmic knowledge? Two optional programs are designed to help diplomates develop customized improvement projects and another works to build and measure current ophthalmic knowledge. More than 1100 of your colleagues have enrolled in one or more of these programs. Data-driven options for customizing improvement Over the 10-year cycle, every diplomate completes

In June we looked at the ABO’s commitment to financial transparency and integrity, and last month we examined our goal of making the certification process an aspirational goal. In this column I will comment on our principle: “The ABO is an independent certifying board of practicing ophthalmologists who collaborate whenever possible with professional societies, organizations, and other stakeholders who strive to advance excellence.” A quick word about the first ten words. It s

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Did you know that you can use the American Academy of Ophthalmology's IRIS® Registry dashboard to create your own Improvement in Medical Practice activity for MOC? The measure performance report in your registry dashboard provides a data-entry-free way to create a personalized improvement project. Check out this AAO article for more information on how to turn your registry insights into MOC credit: https://www.aao.org/iris-registry/news/article/how-to-use-your-iris-registry-d

The American Board of Ophthalmology is pleased to welcome 261 newly board certified ophthalmologists to the diplomate community. We congratulate you on your professional achievement and look forward to working with you to promote excellence in ophthalmic practice. #ophthalmology #americanboardofophthalmology #abocertification #abo #professionalachievement #oralexamination