ABORM CEU's Available Through Pro D

To be eligible to sit the ABORM exam a candidate is required to accumulate a minimum number of CEU's. The courses must be approved by the ABORM. Pro D Seminars is an approved provider for ABORM CEU's
Also, FABORM are required to take continue education in reproductive medicine. 25 CEU's every two years. Pro D offers several approved ABORM courses to allow you to meet your minimum CEU requirements.

The number of CEU's to sit the exam will eventually be 60 CEU's. The ABORM is increasing the CEU requirements over the next 3 years. You only need to write and pass the exam once to become a FABORM. But you will need to obtain 25 CEU's every two years to renew and maintain your FABORM in good standing. The following are the required number of CEU's to sit the exam. It makes sense to write it sooner than later if you want to limit the number of courses needed to obtain your CEU's.
2009 15 CEU's to sit the exam (approved ABORM courses)
2010 45 CEU's to sit the exam
2011 60 CEU's to sit the exam

Currently, Pro D seminars offers over 70 hours of approved ABORM CEU via online and distance learning. So you do not need to incur he expense of travel. You can either earn CEU's on line or through distance learning. We currently have an additional 13.25 CEU's available at out Kiiko live seminar in Sept 2008. We will be applying to request Sharon Wiezenbaum's PCOS seminar approved for CEU's. Live courses listed here. http://www.prodseminars.com/seminars.html

On line - watch the power point and listen to the speaker on line (at your leisure). No shipping required. you can start immediately.
distance learning - we ship the notes and audio or DVD's to you and you watch it on your computer at your leisure. Shipping usually takes 10 to 15 business days.

David -

You bring up some very important issues regarding the cost/benefit issue in our practice development and professional development as practitioners. I remember talking to you at the exam last April in Austin when you enlightened me as to the differences between Acupuncturist wages where you practice compared to other metropolitan areas. These are of course very real concerns, and they are definitely taken into account by the ABORM Board of Directors whenever we decide to add, subtract, or replace requirements to sit for the ABORM certification exam.

Part of the reasoning behind beginning to require certified training coursework prior to sitting for the examination is to try to better address some our current deficiencies in terms of meeting the criteria to be a Board - in fact, not only in name. At the last ABORM Board Meeting, Kory Ward-Cook who is CEO of the NCCAOM was kind enough to fly out to the Southwest Symposium to give a presentation to the ABORM regarding the different models of secondary specialty certifications and what the requirements for each type are so that we could better chart our course to be in line with our profession. The bottom line is this: training for the specialty is part of the path to board certification. So, until the DAOM is entry level to the profession, we need to begin to build up the number, variety and quality of courses related to this specialty so that those who sit for and pass the exam have plentiful training and an equivalent knowledge base under their belts.

We will also be developing and sending out a job task analysis (much like the one the NCCAOM just sent out and completed), in order to make sure that our examination process more closely matches the "job" that a fertility specialist carries out in their day-to-day practice.

We also hope to develop short, but sequential, residency and fellowship opportunities in both RE's offices and Senior TCM Fertility Specialist's facilities to allow ABORM Fellows the opportunity to advance their clinical skills and knowledge. None of these steps are meant to inflict more financial burden on our current or future members, but they are rather meant to help create the opportunity for a vibrant, highly trained, and certified community of Oriental Reproductive Medicine specialists who will be on the forefront of new research, new clinical pearls, new authorship, and new opportunities. By helping practitioners such as yourself through getting the word out about the training and certification of ABORM Fellows, our hope is that more patients who desire to work with a specialist rather than a generalist for their Infertility treatment, will seek you out. Our hope is that this increase in demand will create a more profitable environment for both you and your patients.

Ray Rubio, D.A.O.M., L. Ac. FABORM
President/CEO American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine
www.aborm.org

dabtcm

AGREED Daniel and mega-ditto....come what may !

OK, I stand corrected . . . .
'Heaven Help Us!'

(and just to clarify, its my understanding that 'our' medicine has roots in Taoist, Confucian and Buddhist thought.)

This is starting to seem like a conflict of interest/monopoly. I thought ABORM was to evaluate people's knowledge and then certify their competence. It seems like the association is in bed with the ceu providers if you require we go through them to gain our knowledge. Imagine if the only way to sit for the nccaom exam was if you went to the one nccaom approved school. I think that if someone can pass the test and is licensed, then you can certify them as expert. It seem like you're saying "yes you know the answers, but you did not get the answers from us so they don't count. You have to pay our friends for the answers first, then pay us to take the test to be certified." I think aborm should step back from this; it looks like you are in bed with pro-d. Now I have nothing against Lorne and pro-d providing the excellent learning opportunities to prepare people for the exam. Really, Lorne thank you for putting on such good seminars. But Lorne's agenda is (or should be) different than aborms. Candidates should be able to self-study. It's like requiring the princeton review in order to take the mcat.

Hi Trevor. First let me say, I have the GREATEST respect for your clear commitment to deepen your skill and knowledge - completely - I myself have chosen many times to spend a lot of money and time to go for deepening and broadening various aspects of my practice within the big broad umbrella we call 'Chinese Medicine' and am equally committed to a lifelong pursuit in that regard. My (Heaven Help Us) comment was to a different matter really. And I know this stuff has been debated endlessly and no doubt, everything that needs saying on all sides has already been said. So I will be brief and as non-indulgent of your time as I can be. In short, I just feel the escalation in our profession of Specialty Boards, Doctorates (Ray actually said 'WHEN the DAOM becomes entry level for our profession'!), etc represents a slow, inexorable and no doubt predictable increase of bureaucracy, regulation, red tape, ghettoisation, fragmentation of the profession. It will happen because its inevitable. But I do not approve of it at all. For me, its the beginning of stagnation, stultification and the demise of the profession at large. Its a path that will inevitably increase the presence of managers, paper pushers, 'middle people' and the like in our midst. I understand it, but I feel it will ultimately squeeze the life and creativity out of our profession. The path I have chosen for example, like yours, has and continues to involve lots of time, travel, money and commitment on my part to really deepen and broaden my personal practice - not to treat a particular subset of conditions, but to treat people on an ever deeper and broader basis - a pursuit to which I dedicate the rest of my life. I love it. I am passionate about it. Again, I have the greatest respect for you and your obvious integrity and commitment. Its not that of which I am critical. Its the attraction to bureaucracy. Tell me - 30 years from now when we have 'specialty boards' in reproductive medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, dermatology, geriatrics, orthopedics, gastroenterology, pscyhiatry, etc etc - where will that leave someone like me who has spent (by then) 40 years working hard to refine his skill at treating each and every patient on the broadest and deepest levels possible - because I still think that is the aspect of 'our' medicine that rocks my world, that drives me, that stokes my passion - where will that leave me - in our culture, that will leave me in some ghetto called general practitioner - and in an ever bureaucratising momentum, the desk sitting paper pushers who will by then be 'governing' our profession will tell me that I cannot treat women, kids, old people, musculoskeletal issues, psych issues, skin problems - but besides all that, I will be 'free' to treat everything else! Daniel Schulman
Charlottetown, PEI, Canada

What a great discussion! Lots of good questions. Do we want to model our practise on Allopathic specialization criteria? Is it inevitable that we do? Is there a better system?
I agree in principal with the ABORM and in it's benefit to our profession in that in help push us closer to "legitimate" in the eyes of the MD's that we work with and maybe the public. I also agree with the requirement of having to do CEU's to keep up your standing with the Board. However, I do feel that it is unfair that you have to do specific courses to write the exam. What about a practitioner who goes to China to study/work with a fertility expert there for a year. Mostly likely they would be more than a competent practitioner and be able to kick butt on the exam. Does it really matter how or where the practitioner gets the knowledge to write the exam as long as they can pass it?
Also to agree with Daniel's comments do we as members and you as board members really want to add layers of work and regulations before even writing the exam. That is a lot of time, effort and money spent by the board. Isn't the exam designed to test competency? Why add a layer of red tape to test for competency to then test for comptency?
Again even if the NNOAM does this does it mean that we should do this too?
Is it a wise allocation of valuable board time and resources?
My vote, is that it is not.

Kaleb

Hi jason,

I now understand your earlier comment. You are assuming because Pro D is currently the only Provider for ABORM that they have the monopoly.

Here are some facts that all need to know.

Anyone can apply to be a provider. Has anyone making comments and accusations even looked at their site recently. I go back to my point earlier... get the facts first then post second. http://www.aborm.org/CE_Provider.html

Many providers who offer courses in gynecology and reproductive medicine were also contacted to become providers. Thus far, as evident by the aborm web site, Pro D is the only provider who has taken the time and expense to become a provider and applied to have some courses approved. Just like when the NCCAOM and California required PDA/CEU's they opened up applications to all. Someone had to be first then and now there are hundreds. Although it would be great for business for Pro D if no one else became an approved provider I am doubtful that will be the long term case.

You and all should know that for the 2009 exam only the ABORM is allowing courses taught in 2008 to be retroactively approved for CEU and uses for applying for the exam. So all you need to do is ask the provider to apply to the ABORM to become a provider and also to apply to have the course approved.

I know the following offer live and distant learning courses just like www.prodseminars.com in reproductive health. If you took a course in 2008 and want ABORM CEU's then see if they will apply on your behalf. There is no benefit for them since the course has passed. So it will be an expense (time and $$) for them with no personal gain unless they plan to offer the course again. Here are some providers that offer great courses in reproductive health.... if you have taken or are taking there courses see if they would request to have them also approved for ABORM CEU's.

Mike Berkley
Randine lewis
Bluepoppy
Cindy Micleu and Lee Hullinder

Lorne
www.acubalance.ca
www.prodseminars.com

Kaleb,

I agree with you about how to define what is worthy continuing education or not. This is obviously not an easy issue and has probably been in the face of every licencing board that exists. Can a distant audio class be compared to seeing 30-50 patients a day, within a very specific department in a chinese hospital? Especially if the training doctor in the chinese hospital is very skilled. Obviously these are good conversations to have.

I agree that there should be certain acreditation for the education taken and that it should hold weight for writing an exam. Other wise someone could take some class in facial acupuncture and say they are a fertility expert! It is just about being fair and inclusive to the varying degrees of ones training and experience in the certain areas at question. It would probably be good for people who have received education from sources other than those recommended to come forward and declare themselves. This is the only way it is going to happen. Who else is going to do it for you.

Trevor

Here is one ever-so-tiny but nevertheless telling example from WITHIN the profession. As you know, to offer CEU's for NCCAOM credit, a course must be approved by NCCAOM - of course, that all makes sense - no problem with that at all - and not even a problem with the fact that there needs to be a modest fee charged by NCCAOM to get your course offering approved by them as it does take time and effort on their part ----- BUT - here is what is now happening - I am about to take a full 2 year course with a very well respected leading figure in our profession - its 12 weekends spaced over 2 years - but its all ONE course - he has not gotten it NCCAOM approved because they insist he needs to have EACH of the 12 weekends approved as separate courses which multiplies his application fee 12-fold!! - a small fortune! I too have developed an excellent 3 part, 3 weekend hands-on course on Japanese palpatory acupuncture - its all ONE course, just over 3 weekends - again, to get it NCCAOM approved, they insist I get each weekend approved separately - again, burdening me with a ridiculous cost to certify the course. And this is really just a micro-example of the general ineptitude and stupidity of the bureaucratic mind (whether inside or outside the profession - it will prevail) - and it is nothing short of Qi Stagnation on a professional level. Daniel Schulman
Charlottetown, PEI, Canada

Hi Daniel,

Having applied to have courses approved by the NCCAOM that run for a bunch of weekends over a long period of time, I think your understanding of their policies is not quite accurate. Each weekend is considered a separate course but it would not increase his costs 12 fold for a couple of reasons. One is that once he applies, he can teach the course again with no fee since it is already approved. Also they do have a flat fee for 10 or more courses which he could take advantage of. I have also seen the NCCAOM responsive to specific needs and requests.

I certainly may be off base and lacking facts, but just to make my target clear for Lorne(I have never met the guy before:) ) I was stating my disagreement with having to prove that you have taken approved courses to write the exam. I agree with having to keep up certification with approved courses and with taking the courses in the first place to make sure you are practising well and to have the knowledge to write the exam. What I am agreeing with Daniel about is trying to keep the red tape to a minimum for all of our sakes. If I am misunderstanding the having to take the approved courses to write the exam then please correct my ignorance and have Lorne tie me up and tickle me with a feather. Okay now fire away Lorne.

Kaleb

Sharon and Lorne

I already knew about points you have made - i.e. that approval then lasts for 3 years. But, nevertheless, if you have developed a course that lasts a few weekends, it is still, in my humble opinion, the height of bureaucratic nonsense that you should have to submit each weekend separately. You should be able to submit it all as one course with one fee. Anyway, that is really a side point to my main issue which was MUCH bigger. I just cited it as an example - a very tiny germane example. Daniel Schulman
Charlottetown, PEI, Canada

Then make suggestion of how it should be. And I grantee no matter what, someone else will fill your shoes and complain that what you have implemented will not be good enough. We are all want better.

Here is a an example. last year there was a thread on CMT and elsewhere criticizing the ABORM for offering a license exam with no pre-requisite courses and training. Let me type this again. One of the major complaints was that how can an exam really test expertise in an area let alone minimum competency. Seems to me that the squeaky wheel was oiled this time and low and behold the ABORM passed to require CEU's to not only write but to maintain the FABORM certification. Please do not think that is the only reason. As Ray Rubio posted above, this idea was along process and involved consultation with the NCCAOM and others to help the ABORM meet its long term goal of being a credible specialty board.

I agree with you Dan. I do not want it to get too ulgy with red tape. So lets hope the ABORM board keeps this in mind as they continue on their professional journey.

Dan I do not know you well enough yet to be sarcastic. So I was not trying to insult you on my post. Sorry if it was received that way. I was however trying to bother Kaleb.

Maybe you can get involved with the ABORM and help them as they move forward. Some red tape will be necessary... and regardless, people will complain. So maintain your integrity, have good intentions, strive for perfection and hopefully we can achieve balance. Good luck!!

Lorne
www.acubalance.ca
www.prodseminars.com

Good idea. I do not think the pre requisite CEU's are going to go away. I am not on the board so not my call but I think it would be a lot of red tape (sorry but I had too) to make this change.

I think we need now is to keep it from getting to complicated and full of red tape.

Most who want the FABORM certification already have the hours they need because they have taken CEU's in 2008. Remember, most states are regulated and require registrants to take a min of 30 hours every two years. Thoee who are really interested in reproductive health take courses in the area. See if the provider will apply. Also, it is voluntarily to write the exam. You do not have too.

I chose to be FABORM so when a patient or RE (IVF doc) ask me what makes me experienced or a specialist in this filed I do not have to sound defensive and list all the courses and couples i treated. I just point my certificate and say I am certified by he ABORM. It goes over better than pulling out all my Pro D certificates.

There are some practitioners who are very knowledgeable, Sharon Wiezenbaum and Cindy Miclieu, who are not FABORM but I know they would do well treating anyone with fertility issues regardless of being FABORM. But I have met them personally, I have read their material, attended courses by them so I now know this. But I could not vouch for everyone out there saying they are infertility specialist. So I like the FABORM as it gives me confidence when i refer to others outside of Vancouver. And personally, I prefer courses over an exam so having pre requisites are good in my book.

You are being so kind to my friend. I will not publicly roast you anymore. Just get even from all the teasing you gave me when I had Debra Betts in Toronto.

Lorne
www.acubalance.ca
www.prodseminars.com

Excuse my ignorance your wiseness, but did I read you correct. Did you say that if you've got the right courses you do not have to take the ABORM exam? Were my rants all a waste?
Please continue with the public roasting. I am still a little undercooked.

Kaleb

I did meet many ABORM board members personally in Austin at the first ABORM exam, which I thankfully passed. I perceived nothing less than completely positive and sincere desire from all of them.

This is a dynamic group of dedicated, sincere people doing their best to set up a real organization within the TCM community -- a community that, whether anyone likes it or not -- is at a very immature stage in North America today.

Organizations like the ABORM will foster the growth of TCM in North America for ALL TCM practitioners, because it is an attempt to open a dialogue, and establish a higher level of accountability and credibility to our field.

I am excited to see the direction this takes, and am not afraid of the change that ABORM represents -- a change that raises the level of our profession to a standard of excellence beyond just feel-good brochures and word of mouth.

This is about PATIENTS first, and those who cannot see this are too wrapped up in their own selfish needs and wants. It is PATIENTS that benefit from a more educated and involved community of practitioners.

And, the other side of that coin is that for those who do not agree with ABORM, nobody forces you to take the exam. There are still a large number of OB/GYNs who never got REI certification that are running IVF clinics and doing fertility practices. ABORM is, in a way, the REI level as far as TCM reproductive medicine. But, if you are a good, competent, successful fertility practitioner, I do not see where ABORM is going to directly threaten your right to continue doing what you're doing.

Maybe this is a rehash of something earlier, because I'm not spending too much time on this board, but I just thought I'd throw in a little "blanket statement" to reset things for those who feel threatened by ABORM or feel it is some type of conspiracy.

Chris Axelrad, M.S.O.M., L. Ac., M.M.Q.
Houston, TX

Hi everyone (Kaleb, Lorne, Danial, David, Sharon, etc.) -

As I mentioned in my earlier post in this thread, when the ABORM Board of Directors voted to add the requirement for ABORM approved pre-requisite coursework hours to be completed before applying to sit for the exam, we were actually trying to answer some of the complaints that were leveled against the ABORM last year - namely that an examination without training in the specialty is meaningless. Mind you, I don't completely take that as gospel because the other side of that equation is just as valid - training without some sort of measurement, i.e. NCCAOM, California State Board Exam, Bar Exams, etc. - is not a true measurement of someone's knowledge base. I say this because I have been on Faculty for almost a decade at Emperor's College in Los Angeles, and I have seen countless students make it through the program who could never pass their board exams.

Anyway, in order to try to answer the constructive criticism of our professional peers, we took their advice and voted to begin to require training courses in reproductive medicine - both western and eastern - in a graduated fashion, prior to sitting for the examination for certification in Oriental Reproductive Medicine. The requirements are 15 units to sit for the 2009 exam, 45 units for the 2010 exam, and 60 units for the 2011 exam. Considering that 15 units is approximately a one weekend course, and that 60 units would be equivalent to 6 weekend courses, we hoped the requirements would be fair, but also demonstrate rigor. Remember also, that these CEU's do not have to be on top of a practitioner's already required CEU's to maintain NCCAOM Certification. Our thought was that most practitioners who applied for the ABORM exam would most likely be those specializing in, or wanting to specialize in Infertility/Reproductive Medicine, so therefore they would most likely be more interested in fulfilling their CEU Requirements in the courses from that area. So, for example, if someone has been in practice for two years (another pre-requisite to sit for the exam), they must fulfill CEU's to maintain their NCCAOM certification anyway, so they could essentially take one of the ABORM approved courses that is also approved for NCCAOM or State CEU requirements, and kill two birds with one stone.

Also, as I mentioned above, because David Bock and I spoke at the exam in Austin, and he enlightened me as to the differences in acupuncture wages between his area and others, we tried to step-up slowly in adding these requirements so as not to place too great a financial burden on any practitioner in any one year. This is also why we tried to offer as many distance learning courses as possible, in order to decrease travel and hotel costs. In time, Mike Berkley, Randine Lewis, Sadhna Singh, and others will be offering their courses as ABORM approved courses for meeting the pre-requisite and continuing education requirements. (ABORM Fellows have to complete 20 CEU's every two years to maintain membership). These decisions were not reached ad-hoc or arbitrarily, or by simply succumbing to bureaucratic inertia - they were discussed thoroughly and thoughtfully, trying to take into account the somewhat at-odds needs to give evidence of some sort of uniform training leading up to the exam, while at the same time trying to keep accessibility to the ABORM Certification affordable.

I also wanted to respond here to David's very important point about not having requirements just for the sake of having requirements. He is right. I think what we all love about this medicine is the variety of traditions and treatment styles within it, i.e. Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean Sa Am, Five Elements, Master Tong, etc., etc. Each of these are integral parts of our lineage and our medicine, but there is only so much that can be covered in one exam or in training requirements. Any exam and/or training program in order to be fair must try to discern what the mainstream is, what the essential texts are related to the area of knowledge being tested, develop their testing instrument and knowledge base from there. So, the texts that we chose, and the courses we have approved are generally the core of material being taught and published regarding Oriental Reproductive Medicine. This body of texts and courses will of course grow and expand as we do.

It should also be clearly pointed out here that these CEU Course pre-requisites are not intended to be specifically exam prep courses: As the certifying body, the ABORM can not be involved in offering exam prep courses. These courses are intended rather to demonstrate a body of knowledge and training supporting the competency demonstrated via passage of the ABORM Exam. This is also why the ABORM will be going to the considerable time and expense to develop the Job Task Analysis for the specialty of Oriental Reproductive Medicine so that we can further refine our examination & CEU requirements, and our future residency, fellowship and symposia opportunities.

The ABORM is a non-profit organization devoted to patient safety and choice for their infertility treatment; practitioner knowledge and competence in this specialty via a voluntary certification exam; and collaboration and communication with our western reproductive medicine peers while maintaining the heart/essence of Chinese Medicine intact. We have absolutely no agenda to make specialization a requirement in our profession to treat this or that condition - because this would ultimately limit access to the patient's Chinese Medicine practitioner of choice. Neither do we have a desire to become invested in some bureaucratic quagmire. Every member of the ABORM Board of Directors has a busy practice, and most of us have families as well, and nobody receives any salary for being a director - so without sounding overly corny, this endeavor is really a labor of love so-to-speak.

However, for those of us who do choose to specialize, and who do choose voluntarily to demonstrate minimum competency and training for the specialty of Oriental Reproductive Medicine by passing an exam, we feel that we have just as much right to pursue that choice as those such as Daniel who choose to be generalists. We also feel that patients have a right to a choice between a specialist and a generalist, and the history of Chinese Medicine has evidence of both: generalists and specialists.

Ray Rubio, D.A.O.M., L. Ac. FABORM President ABORM