LA-PMR
All You Need to Know: Longitudinal Assessment
Welcome to the All You Need to Know: Longitudinal Assessment Headquarters! This is your central hub for the most up-to-date and essential information related to all things LA!
Enrollment for all ABPMR Longitudinal Assessments, including Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Brain Injury Medicine, Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine, and Spinal Cord Injury Medicine (LA-PM&R, LA-BIM, LA-PRM, and LA-SCIM) are now open!
If you have been participating in any of these LAs, you know how the platform and assessments work. To ensure you are prepared for any LA, this article will give an overview of everything you need to know about timing of the assessments, using the platform, scoring, and structure of the assessment. To see a demonstration of using the LA platform and assessment, watch this LA-PM&R tutorial.
Enrolling:
Even if you have already been participating in any of the longitudinal assessments, you must complete the enrollment process each year.
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Sign in to your ABPMR account
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Ensure all past and current annual and application fees are up-to-date (Need to make a payment? Go to the Online Payment Center)
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From the Welcome Back dropdown menu, select 'Assessment Dashboard'
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Select Longitudinal Assessment
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Scroll down and click the ‘Apply’ button for Longitudinal Assessment for PM&R, BIM, PRM, and/or SCIM 2026 if eligible
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Complete the steps to enroll!
There is no additional fee for LA-PM&R; all annual fees to participate in the CC (Continuing Certification) program must be paid to enroll in LA-PM&R. All subspecialty longitudinal assessments require a separate application fee.
On-time window: Enroll by February 28, 2026
Late window: If you enroll on March 1, 2026, or later, you will be assessed a $100 late fee.
Assessment Deadlines:
Complete each quarter by 11:59 pm CST
Questions do not carry over from quarter to quarter. If you leave questions in a quarter unattempted or unanswered, they will be counted as incorrect.
Assessment Questions:
Your performance in each quarter determines how many questions you have the following quarter, so the number of questions varies for each diplomate. Here’s how many and the type of questions to expect each quarter:
• Quarter 1: 20 questions (15 questions for BIM, PRM and SCIM)
• Quarter 2: 15 new questions + any reattempts from Q1
• Quarter 3: 15 new questions + any reattempts from Q2
• Quarter 4: 10 article-based questions (4 article-based questions for BIM, PRM, and SCIM) + any reattempts from Q3
Read more about reattempt questions and article-based questions.
You will receive full credit for any correctly answered reattempt question in any quarter. If you miss an article-based question in Quarter 4, you will immediately have the chance to reattempt and earn full credit if correct. Reattempt questions are designed to reinforce learning, demonstrate mastery, and recognize your progress. Each question has a three-minute time limit to answer; article-based questions have a 15-minute time limit.
Important!
You must be using a PC to log into your Certification Dashboard to answer any longitudinal assessment (LA) questions. They cannot be accessed from a cell phone or tablet.
For the best experience, please complete your questions off your workplace network. Some corporate security controls (such as firewalls, content filters, VPN split-tunneling) can block or delay certain item content, such as media, which may prevent parts of the questions from displaying correctly. If possible, use a home network or trusted public connection.
Article-Based Questions:
Article-based questions appear only in Quarter 4 of the longitudinal assessments. There are 10 questions based on 5 articles for LA-PM&R; you select the articles you would like to be assessed on. For LA-BIM/PRM/SCIM, there are 4 questions based on 2 articles.
Articles can be selected during the customization phase through the beginning of Quarter 4. All articles can be previewed before selecting.
You can access the articles before answering your questions and can also access the articles while completing your questions.
There is a 15-minute time limit for each article-based question to ensure you have enough time to read the article and answer the question.
Remember, if you miss an article-based question in Quarter 4, you will immediately have the chance to reattempt and earn full credit if correct. You can also review the article before answering the reattempt if needed.
Scoring:
Your LA-PM&R performance is tracked over four years, or 16 quarters. In year five of your cycle, the final assessment is made to determine if you met the performance standard. The lowest four quarters are dropped in this final assessment. Year five of your assessment cycle is optional but you may continue participating to earn CME credits for full completion of each quarter.
Any diplomates not meeting the performance standard can regain certification by undergoing another five-year LA-PM&R assessment cycle (while expired) or by passing the Re-Entry Examination, which is based on the blueprint and difficulty level of the Part I Examination. If using LA-PM&R for Re-Entry, you must begin participation within the first two years post-expiration. We anticipate the primary reason for loss of certification will be non-participation or professionalism issues, not performance. If you’re at risk of not meeting the performance standard, we’ll be reaching out with information and resources for remediation.
Read more about scoring.
What Else to Know:
LA-PM&R participants will be awarded three (3) Category 1 and Self-Assessment CME (SA-CME) credits per quarter, or up to 12 credits per year, for full participation in LA-PM&R—meaning it counts toward both your assessment and lifelong learning requirements.
Read more about SA-CME.
LA-BIM/PRM/SCIM participants will be awarded three (3) CME credits per quarter, or up to 12 credits per year, for full participation.
LA Platform and Assessment Demonstration:
The LA platform is a powerful and helpful tool to assist you in your annual participation. Here you can track your quarterly progress, review questions you have previously missed, and customize your assessment.
The video tutorials below can help you navigate the ABPMR LA platform and complete the assessment:
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the ABPMR directly and speak to one of our amazing customer support team specialists!
