Happy Spring to all our colleagues and friends! We are hopeful that the beginning of 2021 portends good things to come for the rest of the year!
I am pleased to announce that today the ABPM launched one of its most exciting initiatives yet: the Longitudinal Assessment Program (LAP) pilot for Clinical Informatics. All Diplomates currently Certified by the ABPM in Clinical Informatics will participate in this two-year pilot, providing feedback and data that will play a critical role in shaping the final LAP that ABPM implements. This initiative is a key step towards fielding the ABPM’s innovative Continuing Certification Program (CCP), due to roll out in 2024 for all Diplomates. We invite you to learn more about the pilot at https://www.abpm-us.org/longitudinal-assessment-program-lap-pilot/.
I am also excited to announce the election of three new Directors to our Board! Joanna “Booster” Nelms, MD, MPH, will join the Board as the ABPM’s first At-Large Member, initiated specifically to provide recent diplomate perspectives. Dr. Nelms is certified in both Aerospace Medicine and Occupational and Environmental Medicine. John D. Meyer, MD, MPH, certified in Occupational and Environmental Medicine and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine, will be our newest representative for the specialty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Finally, Joseph “Tim” LaVan, MD, MPH will join the Board representing the specialty of Aerospace Medicine. He is currently certified in Aerospace Medicine and Occupational and Environmental Medicine. All three will begin their terms immediately following the August 2021 ABPM Board of Directors meeting. You can read more about all three of our newest Directors in this newsletter.
Although I’m admittedly a bit biased, Drs. Nelms, Meyer, and LaVan are joining an illustrious lot of physicians who have served our specialties on your Board. For example, we recently celebrated significant career achievements of current Board member, Wendy Braund, MD, MPH, MSEd, FACPM, and former Board member Susan Northrup, MD, MPH. Dr. Braund (also ABPM’s Chair-Elect) was recently named Interim Acting Physician General of Pennsylvania. Dr. Northrup, who served on the Board from 2007 through 2016, took up the position of U.S. Federal Air Surgeon for the Federal Aviation Administration. Congratulations, Dr. Braund and Dr. Northrup!
Beyond the Board, we recognize that ABPM Diplomates across the nation have accomplished amazing things, and particularly during the current pandemic. Take a good hard look at the “Highlights from ABPM’s LinkedIn Page” section of this issue for a bit of inspiration. We’d love to highlight your stories and accomplishments to our peers as well – you can send them to us.
As always, thank you for all your dedicated work in our fantastic specialty of Preventive Medicine, and thanks for reading. And as things “loosen up,” here’s to a wonderful Spring!
Respectfully,
Hernando “Joe” Ortega, Jr., MD, MPH