Elizabeth Meade, MD, FAAP
Vice President
Washington Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics
AAP leaders received information this month from the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) outlining continued efforts to improve the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process for pediatric physicians. Many members have expressed in the past that MOC is tedious, expensive, and lacks meaningful impact on their daily work. ABP has been listening, and has just announced the following updates:
- Starting in 2019, the ABP will officially offer a new option for diplomates to meet the Part 3 certification requirement (recertification board exam). “MOCA-Peds” is an online knowledge assessment program that launched as a pilot in January 2017 and has received excellent feedback so far – it allows more opportunity for learning than the traditional recertification exam taken at a testing center, and can be completed at home. Beginning in 2019, pediatricians may participate in MOCA-Peds for each year of their 5-year MOC cycle in order to satisfy the MOC Part 3 requirement. If they are meeting the passing standard at the end of Year 4, participation in Year 5 becomes optional. Participants will also receive MOC Part 2 credits for each year they are enrolled in MOCA-Peds.
- MOCA-Peds becomes the default option in 2019 for ABP diplomates, and the cost is included in the MOC fee. If pediatricians prefer not to participate, they may still take the traditional exam at a secure testing center for an additional fee.
- MOCA-Peds participants who do not meet the passing standard will also have an opportunity to take the proctored exam at a secure testing center in order to complete Part 3 requirements.
- ABP also plans to offer MOCA-Peds for all 15 pediatric subspecialty certifications, some starting with the 2019 program and others rolling out through 2022. The first subspecialties to become available in 2019 include Child Abuse, Gastroenterology, and Infectious Disease. Beginning in 2018, exam due dates for ALL subspecialists will be postponed until MOCA-Peds is available in their designated area of specialty.
An official announcement from ABP is planned for January with the rollout of the second year of the pilot program, and more details will follow then. In the meantime, please feel free to contact WCAAP leaders or the ABP with questions!