About EMCC

One of the requirements of the multi-component Emergency Medicine Continuous Certification (EMCC) program of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) is that ABEM-certified physicians read and be tested on the contents of 20 designated emergency medicine-related articles each year. This component of the EMCC is entitled “Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment.” Each year the titles of the 20 ABEM-designated articles are released and in the Spring of the following year a 40-question, Internet-based exam pertaining to the selected articles is available on the ABEM website.

LLSA and ConCert

LLSA tests are designed to promote learning, while the ConCert examination is designed to test working knowledge of EM clinical practice. The LLSA tests will feel very different from the ConCert examinations, which continue to feel like the recertification examinations that ABEM gave in the past. The Lifelong Learning and Self Assessment test is an online, on-demand, self-assessment test. The LLSA tests are detailed and focused to encourage learning and careful consideration of the material in the readings. The LLSA tests will tend to question more specific information than will be found on the ConCert examination. LLSA tests are learning-focused; ConCert examinations are focused on assessing knowledge needed for clinical practice. As the concepts represented in the LLSA readings become the standards for practice in Emergency Medicine, those concepts will be tested on the ConCert examination.

Self Assessment

The self-assessment portion of the LLSA consists of a yearly 40-question test based on the lifelong learning articles. These questions are accessed from your home computer, at your leisure. You will have three chances to pass each yearly self-assessment exam. The assessment of cognitive expertise is to be tested by the ConCert exam. This exam will take place every ten years, following your original board certification date. In essence this takes the place of the current recertification written boards. However, the ConCert will incorporate both traditional EM core knowledge topics and questions from the Lifelong Learning and Self Assessment yearly tests. Unlike the LLSA yearly tests, you will not be able to take the ConCert at home, rather you will have to sign up for a half-day at a local computer testing center.

About LLSA

One of the requirements of the multi-component Emergency Medicine Continuous Certification (EMCC) program of the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) is that ABEM-certified physicians read and be tested on the contents of 20 designated emergency medicine-related articles each year. This component of the EMCC is entitled “Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment.”
Each year the titles of the 20 ABEM-designated articles are released. Internet-based exam pertaining to the selected articles is available on the ABEM website.
To be eligible to take the 10-year ABEM recertification exam (now called the Continuous Certification exam) the passage of a variable number of LLSA exams is required

What is EMCC ?

The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) has instituted its Emergency Medicine Continuous Certification (EMCC). There are special requirements for emergency medicine. The CME -like component of the EMCC is based on the LLSA - Lifelong Learning Self-Assessment. This is a list of 20 articles with multiple-choice questions. The LLSA reading list and LLSA test can be accessed through the ABEM website. Diplomates, and former diplomates attempting to regain certification, participate in the EMCC program. The four components of EMCC are Professional Standing, Lifelong Learning and Self Assessment (LLSA), Assessment of Cognitive Expertise (ConCert), and Assessment of Practice Performance. The ConCert examination is the examination that renews certification for a period of ten years. It is administered annually in Pearson VUE testing centers.

LLSAPrep Committee Support for EMCC Certification

LLSAPrep provides clients with an on-line or on-site succinct evidence based didactic review of the Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment (LLSA) articles for each year-cycle which will update your practice on many aspects of evidence-based care. This elegantly designed, peer-reviewed course is designed to: Review, Discuss, and Test immediately! Review questions for ConCert. A workbook with all 20 articles summarized and ConCert review questions pertaining to each article is also available. LLSAPrep Committee reviews journal articles, texts, and practice guidelines relating to LLSA topics of ABEM and makes recommendations for submitting references to ABEM. Topics for this year include traumatic disorders and cutaneous disorders.