ABIM Elects Paul Martin, MD, Chair of its Subspecialty Board on Gastroenterology

Philadelphia, PA, July 2, 2012 – Paul Martin, MD, has been named Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Subspecialty Board on Gastroenterology. Currently, Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hepatology at the University of Miami, Dr. Martin has been a member of the Subspecialty Board on Gastroenterology since 2008. ABIM sets the standards and certifies physicians practicing in internal medicine and its subspecialties who possess the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to provide high quality care.

"At a time of exponential increase in medical knowledge and its complexity a commitment to lifelong learning is crucial for effective patient care," said Dr. Martin.

ABIM's Subspecialty Board, composed of physicians who are board certified in gastroenterology, guides ABIM's overall mission and direction as it works to improve health care quality. The components of the ABIM Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program reflect the guidelines of the American Board of Medical Specialties and encompass the six general competencies established by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

Members of the subspecialty boards are experts in both academic medicine and practice, all of whom must be ABIM certified in their particular subspecialty. Participants of these boards apply their individual and collective knowledge toward the development of the policies, standards and requirements for certification and MOC in their subspecialty, with special focus on developing the cognitive exam that physicians must take to certify or maintain their certification in that field. The exam assesses essential diagnostic reasoning skills, evaluating how well a doctor can put together the patient's story and symptoms, make the right diagnosis and provide the appropriate care. Dr. Martin is board certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology and transplant hepatology.

"Paul is one of the nation's leading educators in gastroenterology. As a member of the subspecialty board he will now chair, he brings his experience in gastroenterology in creating certification and Maintenance of Certification programs that are current and relevant to what physicians are doing in practice," said Christine K. Cassel, MD, ABIM's President and CEO.

Dr. Martin is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of London and Dublin. He has been involved in numerous clinical studies in hepatitis B and C as well as liver transplanation and has published over 300 peer-reviewed papers, reviews and chapters as well as editing several books. Dr. Martin has served on the editorial board of several journals, and previously served on the National Board of the American Liver Foundation. He is currently a Councilor-at-Large for the American Society of Transplant.

For media inquiries contact Lorie Slass at 215-399-4005.

About ABIM

For more than 75 years, certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has stood for the highest standard in internal medicine and its 19 subspecialties and has meant that internists have demonstrated – to their peers and to the public – that they have the clinical judgment, skills and attitudes essential for the delivery of excellent patient care. ABIM is not a membership society, but a non-profit, independent evaluation organization. Our accountability is both to the profession of medicine and to the public. ABIM is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties. For additional updates, follow ABIM on Facebook and Twitter.