New ABFM Testing Format Calls for Novel Learning Tool

March 25, 2019 04:23 pm News Staff – This year, a select group of family physicians certified by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) was offered the chance to participate in a pilot of the Family Medicine Certification Longitudinal Assessment (FMCLA) alternative to the 10-year certification exam. If you're among them, you'll be interested in a new learning resource from the AAFP that's designed to ensure you succeed.

For those not familiar with the new testing option -- available only to FPs who are current with all their ABFM certification requirements and scheduled to take the 10-year exam in 2019 -- the FMCLA offers 25 questions each quarter that learners complete in open-book fashion at their own pace and in whatever location they choose. To satisfy their exam requirements, learners need to answer a total of 300 questions during a four-year period and achieve a passing score.

As you might expect, the new format presents some unique challenges, not least of which is figuring out how best to prepare. The overall board exam blueprint is similar to that of the one-day exam, so the FMCLA questions cover the full scope of family medicine practice. That calls for a comprehensive approach to preparation, plus options for identifying and filling any specific knowledge gaps.

Fortunately, the AAFP has your back. The newly launched Longitudinal Assessment Self-Study combines the robust learning power of the Academy's Board Review Self-Study with the targeted, easy-to-use content of FP Comprehensive and adds access to an online community and more to enhance your studying experience.

Here's what you can do with online access to the Longitudinal Assessment Self-Study:

Review and follow your FMCLA continuous learning cycle.
Identify knowledge gaps by analyzing results from recent FMCLA scores and ABFM Continuous Knowledge Self-Assessment results.
Access the Board Review Self-Study, which includes video sessions, Board-style questions and practice tests.
Use FP Comprehensive to continue testing yourself with access to customizable exams and questions by body system.
Access further reading options, including FP Essentials monographs included with FP Comprehensive and American Family Physician's AFP by Topic (subscribers only).
Interact with an online learning community, monitored by expert faculty, to answer your longitudinal assessment questions and more.

Another perk for learners who purchase the Longitudinal Assessment Self-Study -- aside from the 45.75 Prescribed credits available for completing the program -- is a webcast featuring family physician educator David Weismiller, M.D., Sc.M, of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, School of Medicine. In the webcast, Weismiller provides an overview of the FMCLA pilot, helps participants develop an individual plan of study, and suggests ways learners can manage anxiety associated with the testing process by, among other things, giving them explicit short-term study tips.