Finally, finishing the ACR recertification trifecta, Dr. Krant completed the CARE program. CARE assesses physicians’ rheumatology knowledge base. Developed using the ABIM’s rheumatology exam blueprint, CARE covers all of the content areas tested on the recertification exam, including RA, crystal-associated arthropathies, connective tissue disorders, and basic science. CARE is an online self-assessment tool that offers 60 clinically relevant, case-based questions with answer rationales and educational objectives.
“Some of the questions are quite sophisticated and take some thought,” recalls Dr. Krant. “None of the questions asked were irrelevant … there was not a single question posed that was of theoretical interest and irrelevant to the practice of rheumatology.” Overall, Dr. Krant feels that the program is “very representative of the kinds of problems that we tackle day to day as clinicians caring for sick patients.”
These ACR education tools combine the daily workings of a practice with basic biology. According to Dr. Krant, completing all three of these complementary tools helped him to prepare not only for his upcoming recertification exam, but also for the continuous changes and discoveries in the field of rheumatology.
He plans to continue using these tools by working through additional AIM modules as they become available.
To learn more about ACR recertification courses – particularly if you need to recertify before 2012 – visit www.rheumatology.org/educ/recertification or contact Julie Anderson, senior specialist, continuous professional development, at (404) 633-3777 or [email protected].