Latest updates on ACP's priorities, initiatives
ACP Spotlight offers readers a look at ACP's current top priorities and initiatives, as well as highlights from our e-newsletter, ACP Internist Weekly.
ACP announces two new Board Prep Courses for 2022
ACP Internal Medicine Board Review is a comprehensive five-day course used to prepare for the ABIM Certification examination in internal medicine by general internists, internal medicine subspecialists, and internal medicine trainees. The ACP Board Prep Courses are also helpful for physicians preparing for the ABIM MOC exam. Registrants will receive online access to course recordings for six months upon completion of the course.
Dates and locations of upcoming ACP Board Prep Courses are May 23-27 in Greater Chicago and July 11-15 in Greater Washington, D.C. Those interested in registering for the spring Board Prep Courses can learn more about each course and view the registration rates on ACP Online.
Update, submit application for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program
In 2021, the U.S. Department of Education released executive actions to ease the application and approval process for borrowers who want to take advantage of the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.
A new limited waiver will help an estimated 550,000-plus borrowers who previously consolidated their federal student loans see their progress toward forgiveness grow automatically. Through the limited waiver, the Department of Education will be offering a temporary opportunity to give borrowers credit for prior payments they made that would not otherwise count toward the PSLF program. Any prior payments made while working for a qualifying employer will count as a qualifying payment, regardless of loan type or repayment plan.
The waiver will run through Oct. 31, 2022, so current applicants should check the Department of Education website and make sure their contact information and other information are up to date. In addition, those who have direct loans but have not yet applied for the program can also submit an application by the Oct. 31, 2022, deadline.
New volunteer opportunities available for ACP members
ACP's Membership Engagement Program has new volunteer opportunities for members to participate in to enhance their curriculum vitae, network, and give back to the internal medicine community. Volunteer opportunities are categorized by size (quick task, half day, full day, small or large project, one-year, two-year, three-year, ongoing) and by activity type, including:
- Academic reviewer
- Program volunteer
- Peer reviewer
- Content contributor
Search open opportunities to find more details and apply online. ACP members may also complete their volunteer profile at to receive alerts on new activities that match their interests and expertise. Documentation of volunteer activities for academic, scholarly, promotion, or credentialing purposes is available to ACP members upon request.
ICYMI: Highlights from ACP Internist Weekly
- Point-of-care screening did not affect diagnosis of atrial fibrillation in primary care, study finds. In an industry-funded randomized trial of 30,715 patients at 16 primary care clinics in Massachusetts, rates of new afib diagnosis at one year were 1.72% with afib screening of older patients using a single-lead electrocardiogram versus 1.59% with usual care. The study was published March 2 by Circulation and summarized in the March 8 ACP Internist Weekly.
- Risk for poor outcomes greater among disadvantaged older adults after ICU admission, study finds. Researchers compared decline in function, cognition, and mental health between dual-enrolled Medicare and Medicaid recipients (considered socioeconomically disadvantaged) and their non-dual-eligible counterparts in the National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS) and found that the former group had a 28% increased risk of disability and 9.8-fold greater odds of being diagnosed with probable dementia after an ICU stay. An accompanying editorial called for research into approaches to care delivery after critical illness and an infrastructure to effectively and equitably support survivors' care needs. The study and editorial were published March 8 by Annals of Internal Medicine and summarized in the March 8 ACP Internist Weekly.
ACP Internist Weekly is an e-newsletter published every Tuesday and available online. Subscribe online.
