In 2003 the FSMB Board of Directors commissioned a Special Committee on Maintenance of Licensure to study the role of state medical boards in assuring the continued competence of licensed physicians. At the urging of the Committee, the FSMB House of Delegates adopted the following policy statement in 2004:

The Committee issued a draft of its final report to the FSMB Board of Directors in February 2008. The report recommends state medical boards take a proactive role in improving patient care quality by requiring licensed physicians to participate in programs that enable them to maintain or improve their competence in the scope of their daily practice. Additionally, the report recommends a framework for use by state medical boards in accomplishing this objective.

In May 2008, the FSMB House of Delegates adopted five principles to guide future Maintenance of Licensure policy development. In addition, the House directed FSMB to analyze how implementation of the recommendations proposed by the Special Committee on Maintenance of Licensure might impact state medical boards and other stakeholders. FSMB is working to carry out that directive.

This webpage is intended to provide up-to-date information about the FSMB's ongoing work on the Maintenance of Licensure initiative, including current research activities. Comments and feedback on this work can be sent to scmol@fsmb.org.

For more information, please contact Carol Clothier, Vice President of Physician Competency Initiatives for FSMB, at cclothier@fsmb.org or Frances Cain, Director of the Post-Licensure Assessment System for FSMB, at fcain@fsmb.org.