The Four Parts of Maintenance of Certification
Maintenance of Certification (MOC) is a process in which medical professionals engage in continuing their medical education in order to maintain their board certification. This process is intended to improve the professional development of medical professionals and as a result, improve overall patient care. The MOC process consists of four parts:
- Part 1: Professionalism and Professional Standing
- Part 2: Lifelong Learning and Self Assessment
- Part 3: Assessment of Knowledge, Judgment, and Skills
- Part 4: Improvement in Medical Practice
Part 1: Professionalism and Professional Standing
There are two factors involved in meeting this requirement. To meet this requirement, medical professionals must have a valid, unrestricted license and behave professionally at all times. Acting professionally consists of acting in the patient’s best interests, taking sufficient self-care, and behaving professionally with patients, families, and colleagues alike.
Part 2: Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment
Part 2 of Maintenance of Certification consists of earning CME credits and completing various self-assessment modules that are determined by the different specialty member boards.
On average, medical professionals need to accumulate 250 CME credits over the 10-year MOC cycle to meet this requirement. You may need to complete a specific type of CME credit to successfully earn credits that apply towards your MOC total.
Part 2 of the MOC process requires medical professionals to constantly be improving their overall knowledge and skills and as a result be able to provide better patient care.
Part 3: Assessment of Knowledge, Judgment, and Skills
As mentioned earlier, the MOC process is a 10-year cycle. Part 3 of the MOC is met by completing a recertification exam at the end of the 10-year cycle. The exam is often similar to the exam you take to initially get certified. The purpose of this section is to ensure that the continuous learning medical professionals have been doing as part of part 2 of the process has been effective and has been retained.
Part 4: Improvement in Medical Practice
Part 4 of the MOC is similar to part 2. Part 4 is focused on improving overall medical practice. Improving overall medical practice includes improving patient outcomes, access to healthcare, and overall patient satisfaction. Each specialty has specific assessments and learning modules required to successfully complete this part of the process.
BoardVitals MOC
A great resource for earning CME credits that counts towards your MOC Credits is the BoardVitals CME Bundle. The bundle provides extensive board review questions within a specific specialty and make earning CME and MOC credits convenient and quick. Most specialties that you can select in the bundle including cardiology, pediatrics, and psychiatry have credits that can be applied towards your total MOC credits.
Click here for a detailed look at the BoardVitals CME Pro Plus Bundle.
