Update from the American Board of Pathology Part I

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Update from the American Board of PathologyPart
I

• APC/PRODS
• July 15, 2008

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The Top Ten Things Residents Should Know about
AP/CP Certification but Dont
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10

• Certification requires a full and unrestricted
  medical license.
• Not a temporary license
• Not a training license
• Not an institutional license
• a FULL AND UNRESTRICTED medical license.

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9

• Your friends and colleagues are not always right.

5
8

• After you receive your date assignment you have 4
  weeks to accept the date or re-schedule for
  another test administration. You cannot
  re-schedule within the same examination session.

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7

• If you cancel your examination session later than
  4 weeks after you receive your date assignment,
  you forfeit your entire exam fee.
• so
• Dont sign up to take the exam unless you and
  your program director think you are ready and
• Dont panic at the last minute.

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6

• If you want to take an exam at any time other
  than when you originally applied, you must send
  in a Registration Package before the deadline for
  the desired examination. We do not assume that
  you will take the exam at the next session and we
  will not allow you to register after the
  deadline. (See 5)

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5

• dead-line (ded'-lin) n. 3. The latest time by
  which something must be done or completed

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5

• dead-line (ded'-lin) n. 1. Orig., a line around
  a prison beyond which a prisoner could go only at
  the risk of being shot by a guard

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5

• dead-line (ded'-lin) n. 3. The latest time by
  which something must be done or completed

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4

• Completing your residency
• ?
• being qualified for the exam

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3

• Being qualified for AP/CP certification
• ?
• Being qualified for AP or CP only certification

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2

• If you are an AP/CP candidate and you pass one
  part of the examination (AP or CP), you are not
  certified in that area.

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1

• No matter what your mother told you -
• you are not a special circumstance.

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Update from the American Board of PathologyPart
II

• APC/PRODS
• July 15, 2008

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ABP Computer Status

• Exam system completed.
• Work on on-line applications has begun.
• Web Data Systems, Chicago IL

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Implications of On-Line Applications

• Applications must be completed by deadline or
  they wont be accepted.
• Program director will be notified that
  application is available for review and
  electronic approval.
• Evaluations will be done on-line and will be
  limited to current and past program directors.
• Candidates will be given user name and password
  and can track the progress of their applications
  online.

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Implications of On-Line Application

• Date assignment, admission information, pass/fail
  information etc will be placed in candidates
  site and the candidate will be notified by
  e-mail.
• This site will transition into candidates MOC
  site.

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Change in Qualification Period

• AP/CP Candidates who completed training in 2008
  are being given a 5-year period of qualification
  during which they may take the AP and CP portions
  of the examination a total of 5 times each.
• Subspecialty candidates are being given a period
  of qualification that is either 5 years from the
  completion of their training or 5 years from
  their primary certification date, whichever gives
  them the most time.

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MOC Part IIICognitive Expertise

• Exam may be taken beginning year 8 of 10 yr cycle
  (first exam 2014)
• AP/CP certified individuals may chose to maintain
  their certification in AP/CP, AP only or CP only
• Individuals with subspecialty certification may
  choose to maintain only their subspecialty
  certification

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Part IIICognitive Expertise

• MOC exam
• Allows candidates to tailor exam to practice by
  selecting modules.
• Has menu of multiple modules of limited length
• At least one general module of AP or CP must be
  selected by AP/CP examinees

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Part IIICognitive Expertise

• MOC exam
• Consists of 6 modules of 25 questions (150 total
  questions)
• 80 practical (virtual microscopy, case-based
  questions etc) 20 written
• Blends and grades modules as one exam

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AP/CP MOC Exam



4 add. 6 total 3 add. 6
total 3 add. 6 total
Option 1 Option 2 Option 3
CP
General module
AP
Specialty module
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AP only MOC Exam CP only MOC
Exam





or
or
or or or or
or or or or
3 max

6 total 6 total
CP
General module
Specialty module
AP
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ModulesClinical Pathology
General Modules
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ModulesAnatomic Pathology
General Modules
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ModulesAnatomic Pathology cont
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Common ModulesAnatomic and Clinical Pathology
May be used to fulfill AP or CP specialty
modules
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2007 ABP Diplomates

• 2007 Examinations
• Diplomates
• 415 AP/CP
• 75 AP
• 20 CP
• 25 combined primary/subspecialty

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2007 ABP Diplomates

• Diplomates (subspecialty)
• 21 Blood Banking/Transfusion Med
• 125 Cytopathology
• 50 Dermatopathology
• 37 Forensic Pathology
• 106 Hematology
• 9 Medical Microbiology
• 56 Molecular Genetic Pathology
• 16 Neuropathology
• 21 Pediatric Pathology

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Examination Performance
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Drop in CP Pass Rate

• Possible reasons
• Exam was harder no.
• The molecular questions are too hard probably
  not.
• Reflects a real difference in performance
• Raw scores of 2007 CP candidates were much lower
  than those of 2006 and 2005 CP candidates for
  both written and practical exams.
• Raw scores of 2007 AP candidates were similar to
  those of 2006 AP candidates and higher than 2005
  candidates.