Happy New Year from the Board and Staff of ABPM! We wish all of you the very best for 2022, especially good health and happiness.

We’re excited to begin the new year with a couple of items of good news!

First, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) officially approved a new set of Standards for Continuing Certification. ABPM, along with the other 23 ABMS member boards, is required to implement the new standards in its Continuing Certification Program over the next few years. You can find the new standards for Continuing Certification here. ABPM’s goal is to offer a meaningful program that recognizes Diplomates for their dedication to lifelong learning and quality improvement and provides a credential in which the public and other stakeholders can be confident. We will keep you informed on developments to ABPM’s Continuing Certification Program as they are available – be sure to read future newsletters and follow ABPM on LinkedIn for updates on this, and many other important topics.

Secondly, the ABPM recently announced that it will merge the Core Preventive Medicine exam content into each of the three Specialty certification exams, beginning in 2022. This means that Candidates will only need to schedule and sit for a single Specialty exam, rather than the two separate exams that were previously required. This change is designed to provide a more convenient and flexible exam experience while ensuring that physicians who are Certified in Aerospace Medicine, Occupational & Environmental Medicine or Public Health & General Preventive Medicine have a well-rounded knowledge of Preventive Medicine principles. Read more on this later in this issue.

Lastly, and most importantly, we’d like to recognize ABPM Diplomates after another year of hard work and dedication to the Specialties and Subspecialties of Preventive Medicine. We salute physicians who are continuing the battle against the ongoing pandemic and its wider effects, who are researching ways to make healthcare better for everyone, and who are serving their communities every day.

Tell us what you or your colleagues are up to – we’d love to hear how you are serving your community and to highlight you in a future issue of this newsletter. Send us your news and achievements at [email protected].

Once again, best wishes for a new year of health and happiness!

Wendy E. Braund, MD, MPH, MSEd, FACPM