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Top 10 reasons why ABIM MOC should be abolished – Vincent Rajkumar

Photo of Vincent Rajkumar from healthtree.org

Aug 3, 2023, 11:56

Top 10 reasons why ABIM MOC should be abolished – Vincent Rajkumar

Top 10 reasons why ABIM MOC should be abolished.

1. It has turned an MD degree that we work for years to obtain into something that may effectively be useless unless we spend additional money and effort (in addition to the the licensure fees and CME learning we already do) & answer questions that don’t test real world practice.

2. It’s potentially discriminatory. MOC tests someone’s ability to be quick with the internet rather than their knowledge. Who can make best query on Google or UpToDate really fast. It is biased against those who due to age or health are not as fast with internet searches.

3. The goal of the MOC is not to spread knowledge. Even if we learn something meaningful during the exam you are prohibited from discussing with other colleagues to make them aware.

4. It ignores specialization. Many of us specialize. Most questions we tested on are questions we never face in real life.

5. It doesn’t reflect team approach. In real world practice, we can and do consult with colleagues, PharmD’s pharmacists, nursing staff. We don’t need to be the hero who needs to memorize all the nuances of all the drugs.

6. It’s not reflective of real life. In real life we don’t have the time pressure of finding an answer within 3 minutes for clinical problems. We almost always can take time to research to find the correct answer when faced with complexity.

7. It takes time away from practice, research, family. We are already struggling for time with medicine becoming so complicated.

8. MOC depresses morale. When you take a profession where people are committed to life long learning, do plenty of hours of CME each year, and force them to a multiple choice test every 3 months: You know what it does to morale.

9. The questions asked in the MOC LKA or MOC exam are not what we face in practice. They are often vague zebras or designed to trip people up. (Experts get questions in their own field wrong)

10. It’s a bad life experience that physicians almost unanimously don’t like.

Source: Vincent Rajkumar / Twitter