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Dr Tunanidas was the 2004-2005 chairman of the Department of Educational Affairs for the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) and a member of the Conjoint Committee on Continuing Medical Education (CME). Dr Tunanidas was also a member of the AOA's Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2005. Dr Burkhart is the director of the AOA's Department of Education.

Address correspondence to Diane N. Burkhart, PhD, Director, Department of Education, American Osteopathic Association, 142 E Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60611-2864. E-mail: dburkhart{at}osteopathic.org

The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) initiated programs to enhance quality for 54,000 doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) practicing in the United States. Seven core competencies are required in undergraduate and graduate medical education standards. They include osteopathic philosophy and osteopathic manipulative medicine, medical knowledge, patient care, professionalism, interpersonal or communication skills, practice-based learning, and systems-based practice.

The AOA Clinical Assessment Program (AOA-CAP) is a quality-improvement tool for physicians to evaluate the safety of patient care. Osteopathic residents and practicing physicians measure the quality and safety of patient care using evidence-based standards through an AOA-supported, Web-based architecture. Alternative models for recertification, including a Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process, are under review by the AOA, the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (BOS), and osteopathic certifying boards. The BOS establishes and maintains standards for the various osteopathic certifying boards and oversees matters of policy, jurisdiction, and standards review. The American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine is the first osteopathic board to adopt a MOC process.

The goals of the AOA's continuing medical education (CME) program are continued excellence of patient care and improvement of health and well-being of individual patients and the public. The AOA agrees that CME will play a critical role in recertification and continual assessment of physician competence. The AOA believes that proposed activities of the Conjoint Committee on CME and quality initiatives of the osteopathic profession are in tandem with goals and quality initiatives of the AOA.