The American Osteopathic Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AOBOG) and the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOOG) recently partnered to address critical challenges in certification outcomes. Their coordinated effort offers important lessons for credentialing organizations seeking to enhance candidate success while preserving rigorous standards.

Understanding the Challenge

Following the implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Single Accreditation System in 2020, many osteopathic (DO) trainees faced new barriers. Program directors with allopathic (MD) training often lacked experience in osteopathic principles and practice, creating educational gaps that ultimately impacted board eligibility and success. These program directors struggled to effectively train and evaluate residents in essential osteopathic skills. Likewise, many DO residents received guidance to pursue allopathic board certification, often from a lack of awareness of osteopathic board certification as an option. The AOBOG experienced a significant 24% reduction in board applications and a concurrent decline in pass rates, threatening the pipeline of certified specialists.

Recognizing these shifts, ACOOG and AOBOG committed to a collaborative strategy to reverse these trends, emphasizing data-driven decision making, targeted education and continuous feedback.

Strategic Partnership Framework

To structure their collaboration effectively:

• AOBOG served as the analytical engine of the initiative. It identified competency gaps in candidate performance using board examination data and tracked trends across multiple test cycles.
• ACOOG designed and delivered educational interventions aligned to these needs, offering tailored continuing medical education (CME) content, webinars and outreach programs.

By establishing clear roles and maintaining open communication channels, the organizations ensured accountability and agility throughout the initiative.

Targeted Interventions

The partnership deployed a suite of strategic initiatives:

• Board-Focused Conference Programming: Beginning in Spring 2023, ACOOG conferences integrated specific content aligned with the top deficiency areas identified by ABOOG. These topics have been featured in every major conference since the initiative launch.
• Specialized Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Monthly Webinars: Frequent, accessible sessions reinforce board-relevant content. To that end, in October 2023 ACOOG launched "Women’s Health Matters", a monthly CME webinar series addressing board-relevant deficiencies. Webinars are recorded for future on-demand access. A podcast series, "Women’s Health Minutes", also launched in February 2025 and highlights updates in women’s health.
• Residency Director Resources: Program directors — many trained in allopathic programs — received curated resources to better support and prepare candidates. This included competency checklists, guidance on osteopathic principles and invited sessions at ACOOG conferences. As of 2024, 61 program directors participated.
• Early Pipeline Development: This collaboration proactively cultivated interest in osteopathic board certification among students and residents, fostering awareness of certification pathways early in training. Activities included 488 student and 213 resident participants across targeted webinars, conference tracks and mentorship sessions.

Each tactic was chosen not just to improve candidate knowledge but also to embed a culture of certification readiness across all stages of professional development.

Measurable Impact

As of late 2024, the partnership had exceeded its goals:

• Board applications increased 24.56%, far surpassing the 15% target.
• Pass rates improved 5.75%, strengthening workforce readiness.
• Competency gained 15.38% in key clinical areas, enhancing candidate preparedness.

More than 2,700 stakeholders — students, residents, directors and practicing physicians — benefited from these initiatives nationwide.

Lessons for Credentialing Organizations

This initiative underscores several best practices for certification bodies and their partners:

• Leverage Data to Define Needs: Let data drive program design and priorities.
• Align Educational Content to Exam Competencies: Ensure preparation efforts are directly mapped to the certification blueprint. By directly integrating board exam performance data and the board exam blueprints into conference planning and educational development, the collaboration ensured content was directly applicable to board success and clinical competence.
• Diversify Learning Modalities: Support candidates through multiple formats — live, virtual and asynchronous. A series of learning opportunities was developed — live conference sessions, webinars, podcasts — all of which have also been made available on-demand. Frequent, accessible content increased engagement across all platforms.
• Engage the Entire Ecosystem: Equip not just candidates, but also mentors and educators. Residency program directors and managers received targeted resources — both the previously mentioned competency checklists and guidance on osteopathic principles, as well as high-level static materials geared towards helping residents certify with AOBOG. These materials were distributed to 290+ residency programs. ACOOG and AOBOG engaged with program faculty and staff at the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology annual meetings, while AOBOG collaborated with the Association of Program Managers in Obstetrics and Gynecology (APMOG) on webinars detailing administrative steps for residency programs to qualify residents for certification exams.
• Implement Feedback Loops: Continuously refine programs based on outcomes and participant feedback. AOBOG provides ACOOG with updated performance data on an annual basis and ACOOG updates program content focus accordingly, particularly as new deficiency areas are identified.

A structured plan-do-study-act (PDSA) model or similar continuous improvement frameworks can maximize program effectiveness and sustainability.

The Broader Impact

The AOBOG and ACOOG collaboration illustrates how credentialing organizations can safeguard certification integrity while improving access and outcomes. Despite deep collaboration, each organization maintained its independence — preserving AOBOG’s role in impartial certification and ACOOG’s mission in professional development. By aligning educational programming with certification objectives and continuously iterating based on outcomes, credentialing organizations can bolster candidate performance without lowering standards.

Such partnerships not only strengthen the profession but also advance public trust in certified specialists by ensuring that credentials truly reflect competence.

Disclosure: ChatGPT was used for minor editing and to align the article to I.C.E. submission guidelines.

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A similar article on this collaboration was published in the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions Almanac in February 2025. That article was geared more towards continuing education providers.

References

History of the Transition to a Single GME Accreditation System: https://www.acgme.org/about/transition-to-a-single-gme-accreditation-system-history/#:~:text=The%20transition%20to%20a%20single%20US%20graduate%20medical%20education%20(GME,of%20Osteopathic%20Medicine%20(AACOM)%E2%80%94

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