Rami Manochakian: Thank you to the leadership of ASCO for addressing the ABIM MOC issue/requirements

Rami Manochakian, Associate Professor and HemOnc Fellowship Director at Mayo Clinic, shared on Twitter,

“THANK YOU to the leadership of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) for addressing the ABIM MOC issue/requirements.

Grateful to OUR GREAT SOCIETY that truly represents the Oncology Community & honored to be an active member.

Statement👇🏼”

Source: Rami Manochakian / Twitter

Text below,

“Dear Colleagues,

Many physicians have raised concerns about the current Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements administered by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).

ASCO members are no exception, and we have heard widespread concern that the program, including the current Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment, is not supporting relevant learning and can be time-consuming and expensive relative to its perceived benefits.

The Society Board, recognizing these challenges, wishes to collaboratively help identify a more effective approach. Following robust discussions at our most recent Board meeting, we are writing to share an update on ASCO’s next steps aimed at addressing our shared concerns:

• We are establishing a new Board-level task force that will formally assess member experience and needs, and then help develop and vet potential solutions that achieve our goal of supporting and demonstrating continuous learning in oncology.
• We will survey our U.S. medical oncologist members to better understand all of your views of certification, maintenance of certification, and to gain recommendations for solutions. Please look for the survey soon – we want and need your input to generate evidence-based options.
• We will collaborate with all stakeholders to determine solutions for medical oncologists to maintain certification with the focus on learning rather than testing.

As a professional society responsible for supporting and representing our members in our shared quest for high quality cancer care, ASCO will bring extensive knowledge and experience to inform potential solutions to the current maintenance of certification process on your behalf. We will continue to seek input from our community, including ABIM, and we will keep you informed about our progress based on the efforts outlined above.

Now more than ever, continuous learning is essential given the rapid pace of scientific advances that have led so many new treatment options for patients with cancer. We recognize that each of you is dedicated to continuing education to deliver the best possible care to your patients, and we want to help patients have confidence that their physicians are on the leading edge of knowledge and practice.

We thank you for your engagement and will continue communicate with you as ASCO works to resolve this critical issue for the oncology community. Again, we encourage you to share your input through the upcoming survey or [email protected].

Sincerely yours,

Clifford Hudis, MD, FACP, FASCO
CEO

Lynn Mara Schuchter, MD, FASCO
President, 2023 – 2024

Eric P. Winer, MD, FASCO
Chair, Board of Directors, 2023 – 2024″