Prior to 1988, certification by the American Board of Pediatrics was granted for life. Pediatricians certified in the area of General Pediatrics or a subspecialty prior to 1988 are not required to recertify or to meet Maintenance of Certification (MOC) requirements in that area of certification, but are strongly encouraged to do so.
MOC is the continuous and ongoing process of lifelong learning, assessment, and clinical improvement that board-certified pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists perform to ensure that they are up to date with the most current medical knowledge over the course of time that they practice medicine. The ABP and the 23 other certifying boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), collaborated to create the four-part structure of MOC based on the six core physician competencies adopted by the ABMS and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The six competencies identified as important to deliver quality care are patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice.
