ABMS Visiting Scholars Program Helps Shape Future Healthcare Leaders

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Visiting Scholars Program focuses on "fostering the next generation of healthcare leaders," says Greg Ogrinc, MD, MS, ABMS' senior VP of certification standards and programs. He describes the one-year, part-time course as supporting research that plays into "the development of early-career physicians, medical and surgical specialists ... while encouraging their engagement with the ABMS community." Visiting Scholars have opted to serve on ABMS and Member Board panels, task forces or councils to influence the future of certification. The program investigates best practices and novel approaches for addressing ABMS and the broader certification community's priorities. Current priorities include diagnostic excellence within and throughout specialties; competency-based medical education and evaluation across the medical sequence; racial equity and diversity across healthcare; doctors' engagement in quality improvement and patient safety projects; and research areas relevant to co-sponsor organizations. Ogrinc says all topics covered in the program "will result in deepening our understanding of how to best help physicians develop their skills and gain experience, which will positively impact the quality, safety and value of patient care." Forty-three Visiting Scholars have thus far taken part in the program. Early-career physician/researcher participants "can turn one year in a medical career that spans 30+ years from ordinary into extraordinary," Ogrinc notes.

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