By 2025, all ABPMR diplomates certified in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine will be required to participate in LA-SCIM on an ongoing basis to maintain their certification.

Cycle end date of 2025: Performance tracked over four quarters in 2025. Percent correct will be provided at the end of one year and must meet the performance standard.

Cycle end date of 2026: Performance tracked starting in 2025 and ending in 2026 (8 quarters). Percent correct will be provided at the end of current certification cycle and must meet the performance standard.

Cycle end date of 2027: Performance tracked starting in 2025 and ending in 2027 (12 quarters). Percent correct will be provided at the end of current certification cycle and must meet the performance standard.

Cycle end date of 2028: Performance tracked starting in 2025 and ending in 2028 (12 of 16 quarters; lowest four quarters will be dropped from scoring). Percent correct will be provided at the end of current certification cycle and must meet the performance standard.

Cycle end date of 2029 and beyond: Performance tracked over four years. Summative assessment will take place in year five of the five-year cycle.

The LA-SCIM program encourages learning, so diplomates earn full credit for correctly answering reattempt questions. For example, if you answer a question wrong in Quarter one, you will see the same question again in Quarter two. If you answer the reattempt correctly, the correct response will replace the initial incorrect response. We recommend that you review the rationale and references between attempts so that you learn from the incorrect response and answer correctly in the next quarter.

For article-based questions, you will see a reattempt in the same quarter. The same logic applies: if you answer a reattempt question correctly, the correct answer will replace the incorrect initial response.

Your performance will be displayed on your LA-SCIM dashboard and updated in real time – if you are wondering how you are doing, just sign into your dashboard! If you meet the LA-SCIM performance standard set by the ABPMR, your knowledge assessment requirement for Continuing Certification (CC) will be fulfilled and you will advance and begin a new five-year certification cycle.

Beginning in 2025, the ABPMR will no longer issue 10-year certificates for SCIM certification. The ABPMR will be transitioning to a five-year certification cycle.

Throughout your participation in LA-SCIM, you will receive immediate feedback regarding correct and incorrect answers as well as brief rationales. We expect you will learn and improve over time, and there will be plenty of advance notice if you are not on track to meet the standard.

If you do not meet the standard at the end of your certification cycle, your certificate will expire. You may then regain your certification by either meeting the performance standard in LA-SCIM for another five-year cycle, or by taking the next administration of the SCIM Re-Entry Examination.

Longitudinal assessment is different from an examination. Instead of implying “study-then-test” thinking, try to think of the platform as the study tool, because participation in LA-SCIM is designed to help you learn and improve over time. As you answer questions, the platform will show you the areas in which you have knowledge gaps, and it will provide resources for improvement and further learning – and the spaced repetition feature will keep bringing back topics with opportunity for improvement.

You will not be able to see the text of the question, but feedback about each question is provided in the question history in your LA-SCIM dashboard. You may review all key points for questions, correct/incorrect answers, rationales, and references.

At the end of the quarter, all unanswered questions will be marked as incorrect. Unanswered questions do not carry over to the next quarter. You will also not receive reattempts for unanswered questions.

Previously, diplomates paid a one-time fee at the end of a 10-year certificate applied towards the SCIM Continuing Certification Examination and the overall maintenance of the certification. This fee closed out that certification cycle; it was not applied towards the future cycle.

For 2025 and beyond, the prior one-time fee is being divided into annual program fees. This annual fee allows for the services required to maintain your certification as well as access to LA-SCIM.

All certificates issued prior to the launch of Longitudinal Assessment are being honored; however, LA is intended to fulfill the Assessment requirement of your Continuing Certification requirements in lieu of the one-day high-stakes examination, and you must meet the performance standard by the end of your current certification cycle. All SCIM diplomates are required to participate in LA to continue their certification, regardless of certification end dates or when they last took the SCIM examination.

Yes, CME credit will be available for answering quarterly questions. Credits will be automatically added to your account by the ABPMR.

You must be using an internet connected desktop or laptop to log into your Certification Dashboard to answer any longitudinal assessment (LA) questions. They cannot be accessed from a cell phone or tablet.