ABIM’s Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment
Designed with physicians' personal and professional needs in mind, the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®) provides greater flexibility, more convenience, increased relevancy, and faster feedback.
The LKA is a 5-year cycle assessment period, during which you answer questions on an ongoing basis and receive regular feedback on how you're performing. As long as you’re meeting the and any other MOC requirements, you’ll continue to be publicly reported as “Certified” for your entire 5-year LKA cycle. A pass/fail decision on your performance will be made at the end of your 5-year cycle. The LKA is included at no extra charge as part of your annual MOC fee.
Eligibility & Enrollment
Who is eligible: The LKA is open to all board certified physicians, except those in a grace year, as well as physicians who are certified by co-sponsoring ABMS Member Boards, if the LKA is available in their specialty. Any physician in their grace year is ineligible for the LKA and must pass the traditional, 10-year MOC exam by the end of their grace year to continue to be reported as “Certified.”
When you can begin participating: You can start participating in the LKA in the year in which you are due for an assessment. You may enroll from December 1 of the previous year to June 30 of your assessment year. Questions expire at the end of each quarter. Signing up early is a good idea as any expired questions will count against the 100 you can choose not to open over 5 years.
If your certification has lapsed: You can use the LKA to regain certification if it is available in your specialty; however, because a decision on performance is not made until the end of the 5th year of participation, you will be reported as “Not Certified” until that time. Your status will only change at that time if you pass the LKA and are meeting all other MOC requirements. To restore your certification more quickly, you should consider the traditional, 10-year MOC.
You will receive a pass/fail determination at the end of the 5-year cycle. If you pass, you can continue with the LKA; otherwise, you will need to pass the traditional, 10-year MOC exam in the following year to stay certified.
The LKA is currently available in Internal Medicine and in the following subspecialties:
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Critical Care Medicine
- Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Metabolism
- Gastroenterology
- Geriatric Medicine
- Hematology
- Hospice & Palliative Medicine
- Infectious Disease
- Internal Medicine: Inpatient
- Interventional Cardiology
- Medical Oncology
- Nephrology
- Pulmonary Disease
- Rheumatology
- Sleep Medicine
- Sleep Medicine: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Emphasis
MOC Quick Facts
-
<1 HOUR
average time spent per quarter answering LKA questions
-
>90%of PARTICIPANTS
completed all of their questions each three-month period
-
<2MINUTES
spent on average per question by participants
LKA helps keep my knowledge current in cardiology and internal medicine
"I find the LKA to be absolutely the best decision I’ve made in terms of taking the boards." - Dr. Tochukwu Okwuosa
