By Randall K. Roenigk, MD*
Each year, your ABD leadership team reviews progress toward achieving our strategic goals. In a way, it’s like an annual physical exam: Are we getting stronger? Meeting our needs? Anticipating new challenges?
I’m pleased to report that in 2024, the ABD made healthy progress, as you will see in the ABD’s 2024 in Review. This report details enhancements that increase the value of certification and strengthen our partnership with certified dermatologists and trainees.
For example, in 2024, the ABD developed four focused Practice Improvement (fPI) activities addressing dermatological use of opioids. These activities meet the mandatory education requirements for DEA registration renewal. There is no additional fee, and dermatologists can focus on opioid use in dermatological practice, instead of completing long, often expensive courses not specific to our specialty. Many of you found value in these activities -- of the 1,500 fPI modules completed in 2024, 800 were DEA Opioid Training modules.
This past year, the ABD also made progress filling gaps in knowledge and skills that were identified by our volunteers and by dermatology professional organizations and subspecialty associations. In 2024, we developed 11 new practice improvement activities and updated 32 modules, many aimed at filling these gaps.
We launched a pathway to certification for qualifying dermatology faculty members who received their training outside the United States or Canada. In 2024, 11 faculty members working in the US or Canada were approved to begin the certification process through the International Pathway.
We continue to improve our exams. 2024 was the inaugural year of the Exam Development Council, a group of experienced item writers recruited to help the ABD continue to produce high-quality items and assessments. Exam Development Council members leveraged their expertise to mentor new item writers and perform a variety of item review tasks.
We have also reached out to introduce the ABD to residents. We have developed a video explaining the ABD’s role in preparing them for certification and how Continuing Certification activities will help them stay up to date once they begin practice. We also began offering CertLink to second- and third-year residents. We are pleased that 246 residents signed up and started CertLink in January 2025.
Your Board of Directors and Executive Team want to continue finding ways to make certification a more valuable tool for you. In that spirit, Dr. Stan Miller, Dr. Erik Stratman and I met with executive directors from four other ABMS boards to learn about new initiatives. We have reported these ideas to ABD’s Strategic Advisory Council, and decisions will be made in 2025 about which of these might benefit certified dermatologists. Stay tuned!
If you have any questions about the ABD or your specific Continuing Certification Program, please don’t hesitate to contact our amazing office team. The ABD employs seven dedicated professionals (??) who can help you with any question. You can reach them or anyone on the Executive Team at Communications@ abderm.org.
Best wishes for an outstanding 2025.
*About the Author
Dr. Roenigk is the Executive Director of the American Board of Dermatology. In addition, he is a consultant (full-time faculty) and former chair of the Department of Dermatology and Division of Dermatologic Surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. A professor of dermatology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, he also holds the Robert H. Kieckhefer Professorship in Dermatology at the Mayo Foundation.
2024 in Review -- Reporting Strategic Progress
