Maintenance of Certification (MOC) — Additional MOC Information
MOC: What Is It and What Does It Mean for You? What Is MOC? The concept of MOC was developed by the American Board of Medical Specialties to document that physician specialists certified by any of its 24 member boards, including the American Board of Radiology (ABR), remain current in their practice of providing high-quality medical care.
To maintain your time-limited certification, the ABR's MOC Program is a process that requires you, as a specialist and an ABR certificate holder in diagnostic radiology (and/or subspecialty), radiation oncology or radiologic physics, to maintain and demonstrate:
- Professional standing through a valid medical license (or for radiologic physicists in states that do not require licensure, letters of attestation)
- Lifelong learning by earning continuing medical education (CME) credits and completing self-assessment modules (SAMs)
- Cognitive expertise on a proctored, computerbased examination at least every 10 years
- Evaluation and improvement of performance in practice through Practice Performance Improvement, or PPI, projects
The MOC program focuses on six specific competencies: medical knowledge, patient care, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice.
Who Should Participate? All ABR diplomates—including those certified in diagnostic radiology and its subspecialties, radiation oncology and radiologic physics—are eligible for the MOC program.
Diplomates who hold lifetime certificates are not required to participate but are encouraged to do so by completing an enrollment form available on the ABR Web site (www.theabr.org). Diplomates with 10-year time-limited primary or subspecialty certificates are required to participate, but they also must activate their participation with the ABR by completing the data update form on the ABR Web site.
What Does MOC Mean for You? More and more, the general public, patients and regulatory agencies are demanding that medical practitioners demonstrate that they are maintaining their fund of knowledge and providing high-quality patient care.
The MOC program offers you the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to provide safe and effective patient care and your dedication to lifelong learning and self-assessment.
MOC is one important way you can prove to your patients and colleagues that you support organized efforts to improve the practice of radiology and that you are eager to improve your own practice throughout your career.
Participating in board certification and MOC programs demonstrates not only that you have the training and knowledge required to hold a license to practice, but also that you strive to keep your knowledge current and work to constantly improve the care and professional services you provide.
How RSNA Is Helping To help RSNA members meet MOC requirements, RSNA has the following educational resources and online tools:
- My CME Action Plan—This Web-based template allows you to develop the personalized education plan required by the ABR as part of the MOC process. As you complete the plan, you list your CME requirements, prioritize your educational needs, plan future CME activities, and record MOC-related activities for lifelong learning. Click on My CME Action Plan.
- RSNA Annual Meeting—The RSNA Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting is a rich source of CME/SAM credit through refresher courses, scientific sessions, and other educational offerings. In 2005, each physician could earn up to 83 CME credits. In addition, attendees may be able to complete SAMs presented at the meeting.
- InteractED®—This online educational resource offers peer-reviewed CME programs based on refresher courses, plenary sessions, and focus sessions presented at the annual meeting, as well as education exhibits, cases of the day, and CME tests from RadioGraphics. Click on InteractED.
- Self-Assessment Modules—RSNA SAMs consist of peer-reviewed educational materials related to a wide variety of subspecialty areas, including breast radiology, chest radiology, emergency radiology, and pediatric radiology. All RSNA SAMs meet ABR's MOC requirements for self-assessment and are eligible for CME credit. Click on SAMs.
- Education Portal—The education portal of RSNA.org provides links to many useful resources for lifelong learning.
- RSNA CME Credit Repository—RSNA automatically deposits CME and SAM credits earned through RSNA activities into the RSNA CME Credit Repository. As an RSNA member, you can also self-enter other earned CME credits to create a cumulative CME report or print a CME certificate for RSNA-awarded AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Click on CME Credit Repository.
- CME Gateway—RSNA and several other medical specialty organizations launched an online CME Gateway (www.CMEgateway.org). The CME Gateway allows you to view, print and generate reports of CME credits earned from each of the sponsoring organizations to which you belong.
Useful Web Sites: For additional information on RSNA's MOC resources, call 1-800-272-2920.
