Your Assessment Design
Customizing Your LA-PM&R Content
Based on consistent diplomate feedback, one of the key hallmarks of ABPMR’s longitudinal assessment design was the ability for diplomates to customize their question content. In recognition of the broad range of specialization seen in PM&R, the customization system built into LA-PM&R allows dialing up or down of content areas, but minimums and maximums ensure that diplomates are seeing questions across the spectrum of PM&R.
Customization Within Parameters
How To Customize
The first time you sign in to LA-PM&R at the beginning of each year, the platform will ask you to design your assessment. At the start of the assessment design process, the screen looks like this:
Reflecting The Entire Field Of PM&R
You'll notice that all categories (except pediatric rehabilitation) are set at a minimum of 10 percent of the total assessment. The ABPMR Board of Directors has determined all of these categories to be "core content" for the purpose of continuing certification in PM&R. In this way, the customization system allows participants to weight the number of questions according to their preferences while still maintaining a minimum baseline knowledge of these core areas of PM&R.
Each category (including pediatric rehabilitation) can dial up to a maximum of 50%, providing diplomates with lots of control over the content of their assessment. Diplomates are able to customize their content according to their practice or their learning goals. For example, if a diplomate doesn’t treat children but does have patients with childhood-onset conditions, she may wish to dial pediatric rehabilitation to 10-15% to test and improve her knowledge in that area.
Category Topics
To help guide diplomates’ decisions on assessment design, the following topic areas are included under each core category:
Central Nervous System Rehabilitation:
Musculoskeletal & Pain Medicine:
Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine:
Medical Rehabilitation:
Neuromuscular Medicine / Electrodiagnosis:
Completed Customization
Sample Customization
Once you’ve made your decisions, increase or decrease your content concentrations by using the + and – buttons on the screen. Here's an example of a completed customization screen:
Once you click "Lock & Save," these percentages may not be changed for a full year. This allows the system to deliver the correct distribution of items for at least four quarters before changes can be made to the concentrations.
The ABPMR will continue monitoring the customization system categories and percentages, including considering feedback from diplomates using the system.