The National Board of Physicians and Surgeons, a nonprofit that provides accessible, ongoing certification in medical specialties, has released a plan aimed at reducing clinician burnout and burdens in rural care.
The relatively new nonprofit organization, founded in 2015 and based in El Cajon, Calif., offers a continuous way for physicians to achieve continuing medical education credits via a less burdensome pathway for certifications. The NBPAS' goal is to "modernize the onerous, unproven continuous board certification market that is driving physicians out of medicine, reducing patient access to care and elevating costs," according to a Feb. 13 news release.
Using this model, the continuing medical education is tailored to a physician's practice, they do not need to answer any clinical questions outside their selected specialty, which frees their time while also getting them the relevant information and training they need.
MidCoast Health System in El Campo, Texas, is the latest health system to adopt the model. The rural health system's chief medical officer, Thai Huynh, MD, described it as a way "to increase the number of physicians available to our patients and reduce burnout among…current physicians," adding that implementing it will allow them to "spend more time taking care of patients instead of answering questions that are often not relevant to their clinical practice.”
The model from the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons meets national accreditation standards, so completed certifications are accepted by The Joint Commission and other accrediting organizations.