Dear Colleagues,

We have received a number of thoughtful questions and suggestions following the recent communication from the American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine (ABCVM), particularly regarding whether NBPAS would partner with ABCVM. We appreciate the engagement of our diplomates and welcome the opportunity to share our position.

NBPAS has had extensive, collegial, and good-faith discussions with ABCVM leadership. These conversations reflected a shared commitment to supporting physicians and improving the current recertification landscape. As ABCVM noted in its own communication, however, differences in philosophy ultimately precluded a partnership at this time.

From its founding, NBPAS has maintained a clear and consistent mission: to provide a credible, rigorous pathway and platform for lifelong learning without imposing unproven requirements such as point-in-time examinations or longitudinal testing models. To date, there remains no evidence that such testing or assessments—regardless of how they are labeled, packaged, or delivered—improves patient outcomes or makes physicians better clinicians.

In line with this philosophy, NBPAS could not adopt requirements that, while intellectually interesting and well-intentioned, are experimental and lack data demonstrating that they are necessary to improve the quality of care. Our position is not rooted in resistance to innovation, but rather in a commitment to evidence-based standards and respect for physicians’ time, judgment, and professional autonomy.

At a time when medicine is facing unprecedented physician burnout, early retirement, and workforce loss, NBPAS continues to stand behind its belief that lifelong learning is best accomplished through specialty-specific education chosen by the individual physician—education that reflects their unique scope of practice, patient population, and professional goals. Physicians learn best when learning is relevant, self-directed, and grounded in real-world practice, not when it is driven by mandated frameworks without proven benefit.

We respect the efforts of ABCVM and others who are seeking change, and we remain open to dialogue across the profession. At the same time, NBPAS will continue to advance its mission with unwavering commitment to evidence-based lifelong learning. We welcome cardiologists, and physicians across all specialties, to certify with NBPAS, as we advance our shared mission to create meaningful, lasting, and sustainable change for all physicians.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.

Sincerely,

Paul S. Teirstein, M.D. 
President, NBPAS 
Chief of Cardiology, Scripps Clinic 
Medical Director, Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute