Osteopathic Continuous Certification (OCC) 

Good news! The American Osteopathic Board of Anesthesiology (AOBA) is making Osteopathic Continuous Certification (OCC) easier and more convenient for you. The new format for the OCC Component 3 cognitive assessment is an online exam you can take anytime, anywhere.

The new assessment program brings innovation to OCC for AOBA and transitions the once-every-ten-year exam to an ongoing, online assessment model with 50 questions every 3-years. Along with this transition, the AOBA OCC exam fee will be replaced by an annual OCC fee of $210.

The new online assessment allows you to take the test at a time and place convenient for you, with the resources you need to accurately answer the questions. You will have 30 days to answer 50 open-book questions during your given administration and have three attempts to pass. This provides you an opportunity to revisit any of the items answered incorrectly to facilitate the learning and remediation process. You are required to achieve an overall score of 70% correct to pass.

Important dates/Timeline for 2020 Launch:

  • July 1– November 15, 2020: Apply for the OCC Fall 2020 exam administration online
    • Registration includes payment of the new OCC annual fee of $210
  • Upon approval you will receive an email from the AOBA providing instructions and an invitation to log into the online testing platform.
  • November 1 – November 30, 2020 – The exam is available for you.
  • By January 30th you will receive your examination results.
  • Between June 1– August 31, 2021, your OCC annual fee of $210 will be due. The OCC annual fee of $210 will be due every subsequent year by August 31, 2021.

See below for other OCC requirements.

COMPONENT 1: LICENSURE

AOA board-certified physicians must hold a valid, active license to practice medicine in one of the 50 states or Canada.

COMPONENT 2: LIFE-LONG LEARNING / CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION

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A minimum of 75 CME credits in the specialty area of certification during each 3-year cycle. Of these 75 specialty CME credits, 18 of these CME hours must be AOA Category 1-A CME. The remaining 57 hours will have broad acceptance of specialty CME.

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Physicians holding one or more subspecialty certifications must earn a minimum of 15 specialty credits (25% of the requirements for primary specialty certification) in each subspecialty area of certification during each AOA CME cycle.

COMPONENT 3: COGNITIVE ASSESSMENT

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AOBA board-certified physicians must complete the online cognitive assessment every 3-years to maintain compliant with OCC.

COMPONENT 4: PRACTICE PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND IMPROVEMENT

1.

Attestation of participation in quality improvement activities. View the Attestation Form by logging in with your AOA credentials to the physician portal.

2.

Completion of Practice Performance Improvement Assessment (PPA).To view more information on how to submit a PPA, visit the AOBA website.

 

Should you have questions related, please contact the AOBA at [email protected] or (312) 202-8279. Thanks in advance for your support of this exciting new initiative for AOBA.