AMERICAN BOARD OF MEDICAL SPECIALTIES RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FOUNDATION

Programs

1. The abms ref grant program funds independent and innovative research that explores the impact of board certification, working to enhance health care quality and professional standards, and gathering insights and inform improvements in the structure, processes, and outcomes of medical specialty certification. A key objective of the grant program is to facilitate a community of research focused on board certification. The program fosters grantee interactions with each other, and the abms member boards. The ref also oversees the abms scholars program, fostering early-career physicians and research professionals and facilitating leadership development through engagement with abms and the broader certification community.

   $529,512 spentof which $300,000 as grants
   53% of program spending

2. The abms ref oversees the implementation and coordination of the abms scholars program (sp). The sp is established to support research projects of early-career physicians, medical and surgical specialists, and research professionals, junior faculty, fellows, and residents, as well as individuals holding master or doctorate degrees in public health, health services research, educational evaluation and statistics, public health policy and administration, or other relevant disciplines.sp participants are exposed to the fields of physician and medical specialists professional assessment and continuing professional development, quality improvement, health care (continued on sch o) policy and regulation, and health services research. Sp participants conduct research in collaboration with mentors from their institutions, abms, and abms member boards. Through their research and program engagement, scholars inform the study of continuing professional development, physician assessment, self-regulation, and quality improvement.

   $302,206 spentof which $226,007 as grants
   30% of program spending

3. The abms ref synergizes, guides, convenes, facilitates, conducts, and collaborates in relation to all aspects of research regarding abms initial and continuing certification across the 24 abms member boards. The abms ref also partners with other researchers to develop research projects in the areas of quality and performance improvement, patient safety, physician and medical specialists' learning and education, research and education foundations/organizations and other disciplines. The abms ref conducts program evaluation and research on the abms longitudinal assessment programs' ability to successfully analyze physician knowledge, judgement, and skills.

   $149,823 spent
   15% of program spending

4. The abms ref develops, deploys, maintains, and improves an online repository of published literature and other presentations on initial physician specialty certification, continuing physician specialty certification, as well as components of continuous certification such as knowledge assessment, physicians and medical specialists' learning and education, and quality improvement. This curated repository informs researchers, key stakeholders and abms member boards regarding findings that can be used to improve the certification process.

   $21,046 spent
   2% of program spending

5. Total program service expenses: $1,002,588

The 5 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $1,002,587.