General Cardiology Boards 2023

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In 2018 pass rate was 96%, then in 2019 they lowered to 92%, then in 2020 the pass rate became 91%, then after that it became 86% cause they decided more exam takers has to fail and retake / repay! Cardiologists and their level of intelligence / training didn’t change in one year, what changed is the cut off for pass / fail that they choose/set for every day every year before even start scoring the exam (that’s from their website “The minimum passing score reflects an absolute standard that is independent of the performance of any group of candidates. The standard for each assessment is set by the designated ABIM Subspecialty Board or Test Committee.”
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IC2324 said:
In 2018 pass rate was 96%, then in 2019 they lowered to 92%, then in 2020 the pass rate became 91%, then after that it became 86% cause they decided more exam takers has to fail and retake / repay! Cardiologists and their level of intelligence / training didn’t change in one year, what changed is the cut off for pass / fail that they choose/set for every day every year before even start scoring the exam (that’s from their website “The minimum passing score reflects an absolute standard that is independent of the performance of any group of candidates. The standard for each assessment is set by the designated ABIM Subspecialty Board or Test Committee.”
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Been 86% for the last 2 years..they should go to 100% this year with all the mess they did this year.
 
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iwannabegreat said:
Been 86% for the last 2 years..they should go to 100% this year with all the mess they did this year.
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ABIM would not be okay with that. Changing from a passing rate of 86% to 100% means they will lose their revenues ~ $369,768 (just for the cardiology board alone).

Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP is the president and CEO of ABIM ($1,031,924, 32 hrs./wk.)
 
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lerma said:
ABIM would not be okay with that. Changing from a passing rate of 86% to 100% means they will lose their revenues ~ $369,768 (just for the cardiology board alone).

Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP is the president and CEO of ABIM ($1,031,924, 32 hrs./wk.)
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yeah the boss needs his nice vacation lol
 
vancopime23 said:
Not a cardiologist, just a ID doc, but have been following along with great interest. I'm waiting for my exam results as well, and I also had issues with our exam. Poorly written questions with confusing clinical time-lines repeated multiple times within the same question stem, questions that clearly refer to random publications that have no clinical application, and questions treating theory as fact (including in my own research field of expertise!). Oh, and entire major areas of practice completely ignored.

I also adamantly feel ABIM is a scam. The "members" are full-time physicians, which as we all know, have little valuable free-time. Thus there is no way that they can ensure adequate question quality and proofing. It was the first time leaving an exam where I was angry at the poor quality of questions. For ~$2k an exam, it was ridiculous and unacceptable.

Since us ID docs are all pushovers, I hope you guys can lead the charge to reform ABIM.
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I took the rheumatology exam this year and my experience echos yours. Poorly written/bizarre questions, tons of egregious typos/misspellings, horrible quality imagery, etc etc. I passed, but I’m not even sure how, because during that test it was so “wtf” that I was almost certain I was failing it. The questions were amateurish and half of them looked like someone had dashed them out 30 minutes before the exam started. It was not at all befitting of an $1800 test. Reform is necessary.
 
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vancopime23 said:
I heard ABIM stopped engaging on Twitter after they were called out publicly for promoting their MOC as "so simple you can even do it on vacation" with a picture of a physician in front of a computer on vacation....
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Because that’s exactly what I want to be doing on vacation…doing their trash MOC questions…
 
ID exam results were released this morning, 5x weeks to the very day (exam was on November 1). I really hope the delay for cardiology means the winds are changing and the process will be overhauled.
 
These are my observations as a non-physician with physician friends.

1. ABIM is very fearful that they will lose the millions of dollars that they are making from the cardiology boards.

2. They feel that cardiovascular medicine taking away its board will be the first of many dominos to fall that could eventually result in the non-existence of ABIM.

3. They are very fearful of lawsuits or the potential of a lawsuit. The discovery process could potentially be damning to their business model.

4. Maybe they have a small sliver of a conscious that is causing them to have second thoughts about their failure to be empathetic humans.
 
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dentite1234 said:
These are my observations as a non-physician with physician friends.

1. ABIM is very fearful that they will lose the millions of dollars that they are making from the cardiology boards.

2. They feel that cardiovascular medicine taking away its board will be the first of many dominos to fall that could eventually result in the non-existence of ABIM.

3. They are very fearful of lawsuits or the potential of a lawsuit. The discovery process could potentially be damning to their business model.

4. Maybe they have a small sliver of a conscious that is causing them to have second thoughts about their failure to be empathetic humans.
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1. Absolutely agree. How else can they afford their luxury cars and boats?

2. Yep. The main heme/onc organization is already against the revamped MOC/LKA. Endocrine's pass rate abruptly dropped to the mid ~70s a couple of years ago and stayed there. People are getting upset. In a perfect world our organization, IDSA, would have their own board exam. The major figures in IDSA - the same one who writes all the practice guidelines - already run the major review courses and write excellent questions in their Qbanks.

3. There's probably layers of bureaucracy to protect them from that, unfortunately.

4. LOL.
 
The first start needs to be that insurance companies, hospitals, and GME organizations accept alternative board certification. Currently ABIM has contracts or sole affiliations with many of these organizations. Heck - current fellowship accreditation practices effectively require that you take the ABIM exam and I'm not sure why that is the case. It shouldn't be. It is a monopoly. But they've successfully defended themselves in court in the past, with the judge arguing that the ABIM wasn't liable for the hiring practices of various hospitals (that requested board certification), etc etc.

In this case, having publicly admitted to several errors, they have made themselves vulnerable to a compelling lawsuit.
 
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Anyone interested in starting an anonymous Twitter/X post and then retweeting it to ABIM? This is our chance to do it..
 
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paki20 said:
Anyone interested in starting an anonymous Twitter/X post and then retweeting it to ABIM? This is our chance to do it..
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Agreed. We should make an anonymous Twitter account about the ABIM money scam and retweet for any evidence of the scam and their errors.

In my opinion, ABIM is probably the Enron in healthcare. We can pursue litigation on these errors and their monopoly business model. I believe the discovery process could potentially expose their business model.

If you’re maintaining one certificate, the annual fee is $220, and for each additional certificate you maintain there is a $100 discount, meaning you'll pay $120 per year. Access to the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®) is included at no additional cost for each certificate you are paying to maintain.

* An additional $40 will be added to the MOC fee for each certificate if paid after the year in which it was due.


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mpmd90 said:
View attachment 379581
Begin the twitter spamming!
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We need to retweet and continue posting on Twitter and tagging ABIM. Also tag ACC/SCAI/HRS/HFSA. I'm going to make an anonymous account and do the same thing. Let's get this campaign going. Do it anonymously if you don't feel comfortable. Keep it going even if they release scores.
 
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paki20 said:
We need to retweet and continue posting on Twitter and tagging ABIM. Also tag ACC/SCAI/HRS/HFSA. I'm going to make an anonymous account and do the same thing. Let's get this campaign going. Do it anonymously if you don't feel comfortable. Keep it going even if they release scores.
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Lets go! Retweet, like, tag ABIM and ACC



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If anybody cares, GI results were also released 12/6, and they took it 11/6, <5 weeks wait.
 
vancopime23 said:
If anybody cares, GI results were also released 12/6, and they took it 11/6, <5 weeks wait.
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It'll be 9 weeks for us next Tuesday. They're going to take the full 3 months to due to their diligence because it's going to elicit a strong response if pass rates fall even more this year. They're already hearing about the new cardiology board (which unfortunately for us will take years to implement).
 
For me I will only pay again to ABIM for IC board, if god forbid I don’t pass gen board, then will wait for the new board by ACC and pay and take it, but I’m not paying a penny more to ABIM for gen board!
 
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IC2324 said:
For me I will only pay again to ABIM for IC board, if god forbid I don’t pass gen board, then will wait for the new board by ACC and pay and take it, but I’m not paying a penny more to ABIM for gen board!
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same here. I will not take ABIM board again in my life. I will wait even few years for new CV board. Do not wait your time and money on ABIM money scam
 
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IC2324 said:
For me I will only pay again to ABIM for IC board, if god forbid I don’t pass gen board, then will wait for the new board by ACC and pay and take it, but I’m not paying a penny more to ABIM for gen board!
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Unfortunately can't take IC boards until you pass general cards board. It's all a scam.
 
paki20 said:
Unfortunately can't take IC boards until you pass general cards board. It's all a scam.
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Yea I know, so what I’m saying is that I’m only gonna pay ABIM again to take IC next year providing that I pass general this year, if god forbid I don’t pass gen board this year, then I won’t pay ABIM for gen board again (and why to? To have same horrible experience again!?) and will wait for the new ACC/SCAI/HRS/HFSA board approval and take gen then IC with the new board
 
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paki20 said:
Unfortunately can't take IC boards until you pass general cards board. It's all a scam.
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You can wait for new CV board and take IC board after new CV board. all ABIM CV boards will be removed once new CV board implemented. ABIM is under ABMS umbrella.
That is the reason why ABIM is very fearful.

ABIM business model and its money scam will be unfolded eventually…
 
nomoreabim said:
You can wait for new CV board and take IC board after new CV board. all ABIM CV boards will be removed once new CV board implemented. ABIM is under ABMS umbrella.
That is the reason why ABIM is very fearful.

ABIM business model and its money scam will be unfolded eventually…
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Yes but unfortunately don't know when this will be implemented--make take several years. A lot of hospitals and job contracts give you a deadline (usually 2-3 years after you finish your fellowship) to get your boards in to remain with job and remained credentialed.
 
paki20 said:
Yes but unfortunately don't know when this will be implemented--make take several years. A lot of hospitals and job contracts give you a deadline (usually 2-3 years after you finish your fellowship) to get your boards in to remain with job and remained credentialed.
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You just need to be board-eligible for job and hospital credentialing. That means you have at least 7 years if you follow the ABIM garbage rule. I believe the new CV board by ABMS/ACC/cardiology societies will be unlimited years in terms of board eligibility. ABIM CV board will be moved to new CV board by ACC/cardiology societies by ABMS.
 
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They wait so long so we forget how ridiculous day 2 is. All those blurry EKG's with those 1 liners that were so much more random than any practice. Borderline atrial enlargements and heart rates. Stupid games... and to think some people are going to fail by this arbitrary line they are going to create based on rules that nobody knows but them.
 
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shouldigomd said:
They wait so long so we forget how ridiculous day 2 is. All those blurry EKG's with those 1 liners that were so much more random than any practice. Borderline atrial enlargements and heart rates. Stupid games... and to think some people are going to fail by this arbitrary line they are going to create based on rules that nobody knows but them.
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The ABIM exam is trash. They make 3 million in revenues from the cardiology board every year and 400-500K for recurring revenues from 10-15% of those who failed from this arbitrary line, and no one knows what the correct answers are. It is truly a money scam.
 
what are the best resources to study? ACC sap, mayo review? Is there a discounted rate somewhere
 
Pinkyblack said:
what are the best resources to study? ACC sap, mayo review? Is there a discounted rate somewhere
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The point many individuals are making in the discussion above is that no one knows what the best resources are for Day 2, as the "how-to" is a total guessing game (even if you understand what the image is, how to properly "code" is not published and often contrary to what our guidelines would recommend, so you are literally guessing). For Day 1? Just pay attention during your cardiology fellowship and read the guidelines.
 
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I'm in no rush to receive results without the professional courtesy of addressing the issues raised. Anything less is downright insulting.
 
2 months since the test. Another month before the results likely. Please keep retweeting the twitter messages above and tag ABIM and any other influential people who may be willing to retweet to their followers. 4 retweets is not enough.
 
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FYI: oncology board results are out. Exam date was November 8th.
 
I guess its Tuesday and nothing so seems like it will be post holiday season ....
 
shouldigomd said:
I guess its Tuesday and nothing so seems like it will be post holiday season ....
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If you look at the ABIM website they closed today at noon and will reopen at 830am tomorrow. So my conspiracy theory guess is they are having big important meeting with their lawyers in preparation for releasing our scores tomorrow haha!
 
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It's very unfortunate situation. Clearly justice has been denied to many talented cardiologist over the years and probably some one future has been adversely affected.
Its day 2 of Exam this year that exposed them badly.. they are playing with future of talented docs.
Couple points about day 2:
EKG software that the board uses is outdated, images are blurry, you can't measure Q wave to see if it 30.msec or not, some time there will be 60 QRS per tracing but one extra P wave , they will code that tachycardia and you may code it as sinus. You loose about 13 points. I know cardiologist who failed exam by 5 points. With their software you even can't measure QRS to see if it is more that 120.msc. you can't magnify ECG. They can look at okeffe ECG and learn.

They ask You to measure stenosis. Stenosis is measured by comparing stenosed vessel with parent normal vessel with caliper and then code stenosis. Can you do that on boards, No. Visually you have to guess and if your guess is not what their is then you get negative marks and fail boards and suffer.
This year incompetence was at peak..you get two angiograms with no option to code. All those who got these two angiography are deprived of atleast upto 25 points based number of cases and total 800 points for day 2. What are there options:
Either to cancel day 2 and declare pass and fail based on day 1. Or

Give full points, credit of those two questions to every body who were given these two questions.
They can just say to take these two questions out of equation. They were not test questions because test questions have option to answers and these two questions did not.

All those candidates who fail by margin of about upto 25 points they will file lawsuit and...ABIM is not is not going to win.

Thats why they are torturing cardiologist to wait extra which is discrimination. On top of that they sent everyone email to register for next year exam, which is torture because lot of candidates thought that they failed when they looked at that email. What a non sense , no result for this year but register for next year..what joke?
I would encourage folks to get together and bring a lawsuit against ABIM.
 
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Tommy kirk said:
It's very unfortunate situation. Clearly justice has been denied to many talented cardiologist over the years and probably some one future has been adversely affected.
Its day 2 of Exam this year that exposed them badly.. they are playing with future of talented docs.
Couple points about day 2:
EKG software that the board uses is outdated, images are blurry, you can't measure Q wave to see if it 30.msec or not, some time there will be 60 QRS per tracing but one extra P wave , they will code that tachycardia and you may code it as sinus. You loose about 13 points. I know cardiologist who failed exam by 5 points. With their software you even can't measure QRS to see if it is more that 120.msc. you can't magnify ECG. They can look at okeffe ECG and learn.

They ask You to measure stenosis. Stenosis is measured by comparing stenosed vessel with parent normal vessel with caliper and then code stenosis. Can you do that on boards, No. Visually you have to guess and if your guess is not what their is then you get negative marks and fail boards and suffer.
This year incompetence was at peak..you get two angiograms with no option to code. All those who got these two angiography are deprived of atleast upto 25 points based number of cases and total 800 points for day 2. What are there options:
Either to cancel day 2 and declare pass and fail based on day 1. Or

Give full points, credit of those two questions to every body who were given these two questions.
They can just say to take these two questions out of equation. They were not test questions because test questions have option to answers and these two questions did not.

All those candidates who fail by margin of about upto 25 points they will file lawsuit and...ABIM is not is not going to win.

Thats why they are torturing cardiologist to wait extra which is discrimination. On top of that they sent everyone email to register for next year exam, which is torture because lot of candidates thought that they failed when they looked at that email. What a non sense , no result for this year but register for next year..what joke?
I would encourage folks to get together and bring a lawsuit against ABIM.
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Yes, that email terrified me until I knew I wasn't the only one that got it.
 
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Keep emailing, keep retweeting to put pressure on ABIM about day 2. Just venting on SDN is not enough.
 
Realistically what can we do? We need a big dog like Sunil Rao to speak on our behalf.
 
We all should pursue litigation!! I dont understand why cardiologists let ABIM run this garbage exam for many years. They must use our money to lobby healthcare organizations aggressively. So ridiculous…
 
You would think the threat of a new cardiology board exam they would have made sure this exam administration went perfectly and have scores out immediately in 5 weeks. What a disaster for them.
 
Just an fyi since I’m not a Cards fellow but…Pulmonary board scores were released today. Test date was 11/14.
 
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