Blog | ABO Diplomate Digest

Dec 17, 2019
2 min

Ask a Test Scientist: Why Did My Quarterly Questions Score Change?

Last month, you may have received an email from the ABO indicating that your score on the 2019 Quarterly Questions assessment changed. You might be wondering why and how that happened. Each year, the ABO reviews the performance of all questions in the Quarterly Questions activity during a process known as Key Validation. If a question is deemed “flawed” during this review, individuals are given credit for the item regardless of what answer he or she entered. What is a flawed

Sep 5, 2019
2 min

Journal Highlights its Participation in Quarterly Questions

Survey of Ophthalmology has updated its website to promote its participation in the article-based component of the American Board of Ophthalmology’s Quarterly Questions program. The journal’s contribution to this year’s Quarterly Questions’ activity, “Clinical Decision-Making Heuristics and Cognitive Biases for the Ophthalmologist,” may be accessed here as one of the ABO’s core article options. The full list of article offerings from Quarterly Questions’ inception in 2017 thr

Aug 29, 2019
3 min

Ask a Test Scientist: Why Do We Need Two Kinds of Quarterly Questions?

On July 1, the American Board of Ophthalmology released the article-based questions for the 2019 Quarterly Questions program. If you’re participating in the program, you know that during Quarter 3, you chose 5 journal articles to read at your own pace and then answered a total of 10 questions about them. You probably noticed that these questions were different than the knowledge-based questions released in Quarters 1 and 2 of each year. Today I hope to answer: why do we have

Jul 31, 2019
1 min

Questions about MOC? Visit the ABO Learning Learning Lounge at AAO 2019

The American Board of Ophthalmology will once again host a Learning Lounge during the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Annual Meeting, open to any diplomate interested in learning more about maintaining certification. Led by CEO George B. Bartley, MD, and MOC Committee Chair Andreas K. Lauer, MD, along with staff and directors of the ABO, the session will walk attendees through the updates and improvements to the recertification process, including the elimination of the 10

Apr 3, 2019
3 min

Ask a Test Scientist: What's the lifecycle of a Quarterly Question?

To assemble a single year of the Quarterly Questions assessment program, it takes at least 530 test questions—enough to cover every subspecialty in ophthalmology from cataract to uveitis—along with additional questions based on more than 40 articles. So where does all of this content come from? And how does it make its way on to your screen as part of the assessment? This post explains the process of writing a Quarterly Questions item and how that moves through the process of

Apr 1, 2019
1 min

A New Quarter of Questions Has Launched

Whether you're an active participant in the Quarterly Questions program or you're simply waiting for the right opportunity to start, now is the perfect time to visit the online activity platform for a fresh installment of clinically relevant questions for practicing ophthalmologists. Twenty (20) new knowledge-based questions are now available: 15 covering the subspecialty area of your choice and 5 focused on core ophthalmic knowledge. Both practical and practicable, the Quart

Feb 6, 2019
3 min

Get More for Your Quarterly Questions Participation: Earn Patient Safety and Improvement in Medical

In 2019, the American Board of Ophthalmology introduced two new incentives for Quarterly Questions participation which offer you the opportunity to claim additional credit for meeting Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements in Patient Safety (Part II) and Improvement in Medical Practice (Part IV). Completion of the Quarterly Questions program already satisfies MOC Part III. Here’s how the incentive works: Step 1: Participate in the 2019 Quarterly Questions Program N

Jan 2, 2019
3 min

2019 Quarterly Questions: How 1 Activity Delivers 4 MOC Benefits

The American Board of Ophthalmology’s Quarterly Questions program is both a learning activity and a longitudinal assessment tool that serves as the heart of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process. As of 2019, the Quarterly Questions program officially replaces the DOCK Examination. Available online, on-demand, and completed at your own pace, the Quarterly Questions program invites participants to answer clinical practice-related knowledge questions and enhance ophthal

Dec 31, 2018
7 min

Get to Know the 2019 American Board of Ophthalmology Maintenance of Certification Program

Excellence begins at board certification, but it doesn’t end there. For physicians, what it means to be excellent advances with every new discovery and technological breakthrough. To offer patients the highest levels of care in ophthalmology, board-certified ophthalmologists adapt and improve on a lifelong continuum. So, too, does the program for Maintenance of Certification (MOC). What started as a regimented sequence of activities and assessments in the 1990s has evolved in

Dec 6, 2018
4 min

Ask a Test Scientist: How is the Quarterly Questions Program Scored?

Quarterly Questions, the exam alternative program that will replace the DOCK beginning in 2019, uses a longitudinal assessment model where a pass/fail decision is made on diplomate performance over time. This “longitudinal assessment” method is unlike most of the other assessment formats that ophthalmologists have been exposed to in the past. Instead of choosing a single test date, sitting at a computer, and answering 100 or more questions in a single sitting, Quarterly Quest

Dec 5, 2018
5 min

11 Ways To Get Involved With the ABO

The impetus for board certification in American medicine did not come from the federal government or even public watchdogs. It arose more than a century ago from practicing physicians like you who wanted to address concerns about the qualifications and training of individuals claiming to be specialists in ophthalmology. In the early 1900s, leaders of our profession came together and established a framework for board certification in a medical specialty that would go on to set

Dec 4, 2018
1 min

Real-Life Patient Encounters Put Board Questions to the Test

When does a test question become something more? When knowing the answer saves a life. In a recent article for The New York Times Magazine, contributing author Lisa Sanders, MD, shares the story of a young patient experiencing unusual and worsening symptoms while struggling to receive a proper diagnosis. After several visits to her family physician and local emergency care facilities, the patient met Sonali Advani, MD, an infectious disease specialist certified by the America

Nov 8, 2018
3 min

2019 American Board of Ophthalmology Maintenance of Certification Program Preview

If you attended the American Board of Ophthalmology’s Learning Lounge at AAO 2018 last month, you were among the first to hear about the improvements coming to the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program in 2019. In response to the feedback of the diplomate community in ophthalmology, and thanks to the hard work of your peer content writers and reviewers, the ABO looks forward to the January release of a 2019 recertification program that enhances the diplomate experience,

Nov 8, 2018
5 min

Get to Know the Quarterly Questions Program

The American Board of Ophthalmology’s new Quarterly Questions program brings the future of assessment in clinical knowledge to today’s Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Both a learning activity and an assessment tool, the Quarterly Questions program is available online, on-demand and may be completed at your own pace. The program invites you to answer questions in increments throughout the 10-year cycle in order to measure practice-related knowledge in a longitudina

Aug 7, 2018
1 min

AAO 2018: Earn CME, SACME and Attend ABO Sessions

ABO Learning Lounge: Learn About Quarterly Questions On Monday, Oct. 29 from 3:30 to 4:30 PM, the ABO will host a Quarterly Questions Learning Lounge at the 2018 American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting in Chicago. Join us in Theater 1 to learn more about our newest assessment program and hear from some “early adopters.” Hosted by ABO MOC Chair Andreas K. Lauer, M.D., the discussion will also feature ABO Directors Jane Bailey, M.D., Harold E. Shaw, Jr., M.D., a

Aug 4, 2018
2 min

Thank You, 2018 Exam Development Volunteers

The American Board of Ophthalmology thanks the following groups of diplomate-volunteers who contributed their knowledge and ophthalmic expertise to the 2018 Exam Development Meeting in Philadelphia from August 2-4. Cataract Geoffrey Emerick, M.D. Robert Fish, M.D. Gregory Katz, M.D. Yousuf Khalifa, M.D. Amy Lin, M.D. Leslie Olsakovsky, M.D. Bhavna Sheth, M.D. Sonal Tuli, M.D. Brian Welcome, M.D. Comprehensive Jane Bailey, M.D. Sean Breit, M.D. John Campagna, M.D. Francesca Gi

Jun 26, 2018
1 min

In the News: Retina Today Spotlights Success of ABO Quarterly Questions Assessment Program

In the latest edition of Retina Today, Andy Lauer, M.D., who chairs the American Board of Ophthalmology’s (ABO) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Committee, writes about new directions for ophthalmology’s lifelong learning and assessment program. As diplomate George A. Williams, M.D., explains in his introduction to the piece, “American Board of Ophthalmology certification, and likewise MOC, is voluntary, but each offers an opportunity to help you put your best foot forward.

Mar 29, 2018
1 min

Ideas Wanted: A Fresh, Fun Future for Quarterly Questions

Last year, in partnership with our diplomate community and societies in ophthalmology, we created a new assessment and learning tool for board-certified ophthalmologists that’s helping to transform the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) experience. The Quarterly Questions program not only proved successful in measuring everyday ophthalmic knowledge, it’s helped more than 2,000 diplomates learn something new. So, what’s next? How do we take a positive experience (99% of partic

Mar 16, 2018
1 min

Quarterly Questions Program Featured in ABMS Insights

Some specialty boards within the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) community have begun incorporating journal articles into their assessment programs for Maintenance of Certification. Selected for their relevance and timeliness, journal articles can help physicians apply new knowledge to their clinical practice. Reading journal articles and answering associated questions are important steps for participating in the American Board of Ophthalmology's new Quarterly Qu

Mar 1, 2018
1 min

Your Most Frequently Asked Questions About Quarterly Questions

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 #