Congratulations, you’re board-certified! Now what? In the dinosaur era, pathologists were required to fly to Tampa and sit for a recertification exam every 10 years but now maintenance of certification is much less stressful and onerous.
For maintenance of certification, the American Board of Pathology (ABPath) requires participation in the CC (continuing certification) program. If certified after 01/01/2006 you are automatically enrolled in the program (all others hold lifetime certifications but may voluntarily enroll in the program).
CC program participation – 2 year reporting period. For participation, you must:
- Meet reporting requirements
- Complete CertLink questions every quarter
- Pay the annual fee of $150
What are reporting requirements:
- Medical license information
- Current practice information
- Continuing medical education (CME)
- Quality assurance activities
What is CertLink?
Longitudinal assessment to support continuous learning and professional development
You 1) design your individual assessment according to interests and knowledge from a choice of 30 practice areas and 2) answer 10-15 questions every quarter (5 minutes per question).
You can use any resources (excluding another human) to answer the questions.
My approach to design my assessment is to include a mix of areas related to my current practice as well as a 1-3 areas of special interest or areas I feel I could use additional education.
DON’T FORGET – ABPath does allow for some leniency but if you miss 3 quarters within a 2 year reporting period, then you’re considered “not participating” in the CC program. If needed, you can request a sabbatical and can request 2 sabbaticals within a 2 year period.
How do you design your CertLink assessments? Do you prefer the CC program or an exam every 10 years?