We have received countless calls and emails from pediatricians who are faced with an expiring board certificate and the specter of sitting for a proctored exam for the first time in over 10 years.

At least this is a task that most of us have a successful track record with or we wouldn’t be Board Certified Pediatricians in need of recertification

However, getting through Parts 2 and Parts 4 are even more daunting since it is not clear what exactly needs to be done to get credit.

I know I personally had no idea of the details until I went through the process myself last year. I even wrote about it.

Even once the process began to make sense, and you roll up your gingham patterned sleeves another curve ball hits the outside corner. Last year the scoring system changed. This year the expiration date for your pediatric board certification expires on December 18^th rather than December 31^st.

However don’t despair we are here to help you get through the MOC process.

In order to get through it last year I had to go through several trials and errors. These included glitches in:

• Registering for the exam
• What I should have brought to the exam
• What I shouldn’t have brought to the exam
• What I forgot to bring to the exam

(The security in the exam center felt like I was in an airport surrounded by marginally dressed TSA agents)

I spent days and weeks trying to determine which were the least confusing, most useful and cost effective (cheaper) modules to go through. The explanations on the websites were not always easy to follow. There were no arrows pointing to the best and least time consuming modules.

I found myself so confused and bored flies were landing on my bloodshot eyes and it took me 3 hours to notice. That is when I decided to get on the phone with both the American Board of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

I remember wishing for a simple monograph I could use to supplement the study materials I had used. A monograph that would walk me through the process and provide me with a general idea of what material I needed to focus on. Believe me I searched for such a concise booklet but was stuck with the outlines on the American Board of Pediatrics and American Academy of Pediatrics Websites, which were anything but concise. Without the numerous phone calls I would probably be scrambling to get my MOC recertification completed along with the class of 2014.

After I successfully completed the cycle I decided to put together a monograph so that my colleagues could benefit from the legwork I did to simplify the process for myself.

We also included a MOC Nuggets ™ section which will help you gauge how prepared you are regarding fund of knowledge for the pediatric recertification process. Like all of our material, this is based on the content specifications of the American Board of Pediatrics.

The sample questions and answers include tips on how to break down questions. This will be especially valuable to those of you have not studied nor sat for an exam in more than a decade.

This guide will help you get through the process in the spirit in which it is intended. Your focus should be on learning the material in the modules, and improving the quality of your practice rather than trying to figure out the process itself.