Official ABIM 2012 Thread

[gutonc]

1st block, at least 75% correct,
2nd block, at least 70% correct,
3rd block, at least 75% correct,
4th block, at least 70% correct.
i found blocks 2 and 4 more difficult. i think i passed the threshold. definately agree, mksap was not enough. this exam requires you to dig very deep. it requires a great understanding from multiple sources. you need to get information from multiple angles, and it has that many more ways of sticking in your head. i got some Qs right from mksap, some more from Uworld, some more from awesome review, some more from the other board review sources (Johns Hopkins board review, medstudy). every source of info adding a few more points to the final score. hopefully it was enough. i was the one who scored 142 (69.3% correct) last year and failed. the calculation was correct. not all questions are scored the same, and some questions give them "more information" than others.
notice over the last 5 years, consecutively the average pass rate for 1st time test takers has gone down. From 2007-2011, I believe it was 94%, 91%, 88%, 87%, 84%. Wonder what this year will bring. It seemed harder.

You bring up some interesting points here and I think it can all be put down to what has become an arms race between the test makers and the review companies, with the examinees stuck in the middle. You're definitely correct that MKSAP is not enough. Neither (probably, although I have no data to back up this assertion) is any other single review source. And that's because, as there are now so many review sources (you listed 6 in your post alone) that the test writers feel the need to make the exam more difficult to avoid rewarding people who are just really good at memorizing review materials and focus instead on people who are "good doctors."

To quote Pogo (from way before my time even), "we have met the enemy, and he is us."

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[Thinker123]

1st block, at least 75% correct,
2nd block, at least 70% correct,
3rd block, at least 75% correct,
4th block, at least 70% correct.
i found blocks 2 and 4 more difficult. i think i passed the threshold. definately agree, mksap was not enough. this exam requires you to dig very deep. it requires a great understanding from multiple sources. you need to get information from multiple angles, and it has that many more ways of sticking in your head. i got some Qs right from mksap, some more from Uworld, some more from awesome review, some more from the other board review sources (Johns Hopkins board review, medstudy). every source of info adding a few more points to the final score. hopefully it was enough. i was the one who scored 142 (69.3% correct) last year and failed. the calculation was correct. not all questions are scored the same, and some questions give them "more information" than others.
notice over the last 5 years, consecutively the average pass rate for 1st time test takers has gone down. From 2007-2011, I believe it was 94%, 91%, 88%, 87%, 84%. Wonder what this year will bring. It seemed harder.
i should also add this disclaimer... i probably rushed through the exam last year, finishing most blocks with 50 minutes left to spare, not realizing that the questions were not as easy as they seemed, and i really needed the full 2 minutes per question to consider all options, and carefully rule out the wrong ones.

I think I may have figured them out. I think they want the overall pass rate to be 77-79%. Maybe the total. One of the reasons the first time test takers have gone down is the repeater percentage has gone up form the 20s to the 30s. If you still have your score sheet from last year, I bet if you check it the overall pass rate will be 77-79%...I think that's what they care about....failing 21-23% of people.

 

[2012ABIM]

I felt the same way! The last session was THE WORST! and I do think that I am just remembering the ones that gave me a lot of trouble and (thus) got wrong... Well, we will just hope for the best and wait for the results...

My 2nd and 4th sessions are so difficult and confusing. I felt that they give more difficult questions for test-repeaters, more difficult than MKSAP and Kaplan qbank. Basic questions and questions for preventive medicine are fewer that those for first time test takers.

 

[workingdoc]

Thanks for the information on how to calculate the score. I did calculate my score from last year and it was a 139.2-not sure how its a decimal and not round number, but did it according to the advice listed.

However, the standardized passing score was listed as a 370 and my passing score(these are abim converted scores that they somehow figure out) was a 341. To me, this looks like I was not as close to passing at the 139.2 would have me believe. If I take my 139.2/205 it puts me in the range of 68%, which if we need 70% to pass seems awfually close, but the 341 number out of 370 doesn't seems as close...again, hard to interpret.

Thanks for all the great posts!

 

[Thinker123]

My 2nd and 4th sessions are so difficult and confusing. I felt that they give more difficult questions for test-repeaters, more difficult than MKSAP and Kaplan qbank. Basic questions and questions for preventive medicine are fewer that those for first time test takers.

I don't think they would give repeaters a harder test. I think there would have been outrage by now. Ask them...they can't lie. LOL

 

[Thinker123]

Thanks for the information on how to calculate the score. I did calculate my score from last year and it was a 139.2-not sure how its a decimal and not round number, but did it according to the advice listed.

However, the standardized passing score was listed as a 370 and my passing score(these are abim converted scores that they somehow figure out) was a 341. To me, this looks like I was not as close to passing at the 139.2 would have me believe. If I take my 139.2/205 it puts me in the range of 68%, which if we need 70% to pass seems awfually close, but the 341 number out of 370 doesn't seems as close...again, hard to interpret.

Thanks for all the great posts!

You must have done something wrong if you came out with a decimal. You were supposed to round off (standard rounding procedures) at each subsection...so 13.5 would round to 14 and 13.4 would round to 13. Then total up all the whole numbers.

Thanks for sharing because this is interesting since that one person said he/she passed with a 140.

 

[CanIMakeIt]

Thanks for the information on how to calculate the score. I did calculate my score from last year and it was a 139.2-not sure how its a decimal and not round number, but did it according to the advice listed.

However, the standardized passing score was listed as a 370 and my passing score(these are abim converted scores that they somehow figure out) was a 341. To me, this looks like I was not as close to passing at the 139.2 would have me believe. If I take my 139.2/205 it puts me in the range of 68%, which if we need 70% to pass seems awfually close, but the 341 number out of 370 doesn't seems as close...again, hard to interpret.

Thanks for all the great posts!

I guess, as was said before, not every question counts the same - weighted differently. So guessing on an easy question is not rewarded as heavily as guessing on a harder question. I will be glad when this is over and done with

 

[gidocgi]

Hi Everyone,
I'm taking my exam soon (less than a week). I have mainly gone through medstudy videos (not yet finished all) and MKSAP questions (not yet finished all). I plan to finish mksap questions. After that what do you all suggest?
- buy usmle world abim questions
- buy kaplan abim questions
- buy medstudy online questions
- read through bb2
- a combination of any of the above
- or something else.

Thanks.

 

[gidocgi]

Ps. It this point I don't want to worry about cost - just want to do what's going to be best for results.

 

[Thinker123]

I guess, as was said before, not every question counts the same - weighted differently. So guessing on an easy question is not rewarded as heavily as guessing on a harder question. I will be glad when this is over and done with

I'm just not buying this theory. It might be true though.

 

[Thinker123]

Hi Everyone,
I'm taking my exam soon (less than a week). I have mainly gone through medstudy videos (not yet finished all) and MKSAP questions (not yet finished all). I plan to finish mksap questions. After that what do you all suggest?
- buy usmle world abim questions
- buy kaplan abim questions
- buy medstudy online questions
- read through bb2
- a combination of any of the above
- or something else.

Thanks.

Not sure...good luck

 

[katang]

i am pretty sure I saw 1 questoin repeated in the test...prob in block 1 and then again in block 4....any one have any idea what the #$$%%^& that is?I am thinking of writing to the board about this-it sems awafully unfair to me that if I got it wrong the 1st time, the board would ask me the same thing again to try and trip me up....and to have the same question wrong twice and having both times counted as a mistake for the same question kind of seems akin to being tried for the same offence twice! Anyone who took the test recently had the same issue?

 

[gidocgi]

Not sure...good luck

or do you think sticking to MKSAP questions and medstudy lectures alone is enough (along with interspersed BB2)??

please help

 

[gidocgi]

or do you think sticking to MKSAP questions and medstudy lectures alone is enough (along with interspersed BB2)??

please help

 

[LoudBark]

or do you think sticking to MKSAP questions and medstudy lectures alone is enough (along with interspersed BB2)??

please help

Know Med Study just by itself and you should pass without a problem at all.

 

[LoudBark]

i am pretty sure I saw 1 questoin repeated in the test...prob in block 1 and then again in block 4....any one have any idea what the #$$%%^& that is?I am thinking of writing to the board about this-it sems awafully unfair to me that if I got it wrong the 1st time, the board would ask me the same thing again to try and trip me up....and to have the same question wrong twice and having both times counted as a mistake for the same question kind of seems akin to being tried for the same offence twice! Anyone who took the test recently had the same issue?

Chill out and take an Ativan. A number of questions get thrown out each year. For example if say 80% of the people miss it or they realize they repeat the same question just asked a different way it gets thrown out. Apparently on any given year as many as 20+ questions may get thrown out. That is why you don't get your results right away from an electronic test. The test gets scrutinized even after people complete it and it is reviewed for fairness.

 

[gidocgi]

Know Med Study just by itself and you should pass without a problem at all.

Its the medstudy video lectures that I am doing. You feel that's enough? I have not read the text.
- basically Medstudy video
- MKSAP questions,
- little bit of BB2

Anything else??

 

[c5a]

Its the medstudy video lectures that I am doing. You feel that's enough? I have not read the text.
- basically Medstudy video
- MKSAP questions,
- little bit of BB2

Anything else??

it's actually 35 questions that are experimental. out of 240 questions, 205 count. i had a question where 2 of the answers were exactly the same. how do you count that one?

 

[Thinker123]

i am pretty sure I saw 1 questoin repeated in the test...prob in block 1 and then again in block 4....any one have any idea what the #$$%%^& that is?I am thinking of writing to the board about this-it sems awafully unfair to me that if I got it wrong the 1st time, the board would ask me the same thing again to try and trip me up....and to have the same question wrong twice and having both times counted as a mistake for the same question kind of seems akin to being tried for the same offence twice! Anyone who took the test recently had the same issue?

Feel free to write to them. I didn't have the exact same question but I had some topics come up like 3 times. I felt like they have "themes" where they will give you the same topic over and over to see if you have mastered it... It could also be luck since the questions are chosen in an automated random manner.

 

[Thinker123]

Chill out and take an Ativan. A number of questions get thrown out each year. For example if say 80% of the people miss it or they realize they repeat the same question just asked a different way it gets thrown out. Apparently on any given year as many as 20+ questions may get thrown out. That is why you don't get your results right away from an electronic test. The test gets scrutinized even after people complete it and it is reviewed for fairness.

If they are going to throw out questions then it would be best for them to just give credit for more than one answer. I don't think they could simply toss questions unless them have some tested back up questions. They never count the "pretest" questions but conceivably they could have 5 extra tested questions and only pretest 30 questions. Who knows what they do? Your total will be out of 205 no matter what.

 

[DrVanNostran]

FWIW, here is what one of my friends said. He took the test yesterday:

1. Med Study Videos-Money--he took notes in stead of reading the books, thought they were great
2. MKSAP 15 questions-Money-did them twice
3. USMLE World IM-did them, thought they were to hard and didn't learn much
4. Med Study questions-thought they were to easy
5. Harrisons Question book-though the book was a good review, but not necessary

Overall, he thought the the test was ok, definitely not easy.

 

[2012ABIM]

i am pretty sure I saw 1 questoin repeated in the test...prob in block 1 and then again in block 4....any one have any idea what the #$$%%^& that is?I am thinking of writing to the board about this-it sems awafully unfair to me that if I got it wrong the 1st time, the board would ask me the same thing again to try and trip me up....and to have the same question wrong twice and having both times counted as a mistake for the same question kind of seems akin to being tried for the same offence twice! Anyone who took the test recently had the same issue?

I had too. Session 1 and 4, 0ne repeated question. I think this is computer error.

 

[c5a]

I'm just not buying this theory. It might be true though.

this is true. i called the abim and asked them last year. "not all questions count the same, and some questions give us more information than others." how else can i score 142/205, and fail, and another gets 140/205, and pass. it's the only explanation.

 

[Bestest]

this is true. i called the abim and asked them last year. "not all questions count the same, and some questions give us more information than others." how else can i score 142/205, and fail, and another gets 140/205, and pass. it's the only explanation.

I scored 144/205 last year and still failed. They claimed my standardized score was 350 (with 370 needed to pass). I have NO IDEA what that means. Hopefully I'll pass this time. I paid $250 for the recount, too- big waste. So FYI, you can get 70% of the (non-discarded) questions right and still fail.

 

[Thinker123]

this is true. i called the abim and asked them last year. "not all questions count the same, and some questions give us more information than others." how else can i score 142/205, and fail, and another gets 140/205, and pass. it's the only explanation.

Wow...thanks. This is so odd...mystery rather than transparency. Personally I think it's lame.

 

[Thinker123]

I scored 144/205 last year and still failed. They claimed my standardized score was 350 (with 370 needed to pass). I have NO IDEA what that means. Hopefully I'll pass this time. I paid $250 for the recount, too- big waste. So FYI, you can get 70% of the (non-discarded) questions right and still fail.

Very disappointing. 70% should automatically be a pass.

 

[Thinker123]

I guess we all come back here at the end of October to share how things went.I feel better this time but you never know. That last session was HARD! This is the first time I can honestly say I put in the right effort to prepare and finished all the MKSAP questions. This is the first time I was aware of BB2. I hope all of us pass!

 

[CanIMakeIt]

I guess we all come back here at the end of October to share how things went.I feel better this time but you never know. That last session was HARD! This is the first time I can honestly say I put in the right effort to prepare and finished all the MKSAP questions. This is the first time I was aware of BB2. I hope all of us pass!

I agree, I think my last one was the hardest of all with vague symptoms and no real HPI or PMH. Just long lab values. 2nd block was comparatively easier (but not really easy) and 1st and 3rd somewhere in there. But didn't feel real confident coming out of the exam.

Oh well. Good luck y'all! Hope we never have to take it again!

 

[Thinker123]

I agree, I think my last one was the hardest of all with vague symptoms and no real HPI or PMH. Just long lab values. 2nd block was comparatively easier (but not really easy) and 1st and 3rd somewhere in there. But didn't feel real confident coming out of the exam.

Oh well. Good luck y'all! Hope we never have to take it again!

Did you take it on the first day? I too noticed the second block to be a bit easier.

 

[CanIMakeIt]

Did you take it on the first day? I too noticed the second block to be a bit easier.

No just took it. and now I have a massive headache . There were a few question verbatim from MKSAP (not the long stem ones but some silly regurgitation ones that you either knew or didn't).

 

[Thinker123]

No just took it. and now I have a massive headache . There were a few question verbatim from MKSAP (not the long stem ones but some silly regurgitation ones that you either knew or didn't).

Cool. I hope we all pass.

 

[Thinker123]

No just took it. and now I have a massive headache . There were a few question verbatim from MKSAP (not the long stem ones but some silly regurgitation ones that you either knew or didn't).

By the way...I liked having some of the short ones in the mix. It helped with pacing and it is being honest. Even in some of those long "clinical" ones, they want you to make the decision based on certain knowledge, Why not just cut the BS and ask directly sometimes. I think it was a good mix. I think my exam had about 10-15 short ones per block which is a great number and way more than the past where I think I had about 1 or 2 short ones per block.

 

[FutureInternist]

Just took it today.
MKSAP Qs seemed a lot easier in that since they were longer, they gave you enough info to r/o multiple choices.
Actual exam Qs seemed to stop about a sentence or two short.
MKSAP for me, gave me a false sense of security
Oh well...Now I know what to expect when I have to take it again next year

 

[gutonc]

Just took it today.
MKSAP Qs seemed a lot easier in that since they were longer, they gave you enough info to r/o multiple choices.
Actual exam Qs seemed to stop about a sentence or two short.
MKSAP for me, gave me a false sense of security
Oh well...Now I know what to expect when I have to take it again next year

That was exactly my experience last year. It seemed like the real questions stopped halfway through the intended text. MKSAP was good...but barely (in my case anyway) good enough.

Also...Comic Sans? Really?

 

[CanIMakeIt]

That was exactly my experience last year. It seemed like the real questions stopped halfway through the intended text. MKSAP was good...but barely (in my case anyway) good enough.

Also...Comic Sans? Really?

Yeah that's what I felt like - MKSAP had everything in the question to rule out things. Actual exam questions seemed half-baked. Oh well.

 

[smartreader]

Just took the exam today - My impression:
1) Easier than the MKSAP -
Most questions were first or second order (compared to the MKSAP questions which were 2nd or 3rd order).
The first order questions were very straight ford - although you either knew the answer or you didn't.

2) Questions stems were shorter than the MKSAP - which made the questions easier to answer. I did find myself wanting more information to answer the questions with certainty - but there usually was one answer that was better than the rest. Although sometimes I felt the answer wasn't in the multiple choice options.

3) I wish did all the MKSAP questions (only did half of them) - there were definitely repeats on the actual exam.

4) There are Psychiatry questions, but they are fairly straightford.

5) Lots of questions of Pharmacology (i.e best medication for a certain condition) and Infectious disease (ticks, rashes****)...

6) LOTS of questions on diseases with multisystemic manifestations - (Celiac disease, becets disease, Hep C, Lyme Disease, Sarcoidosis, Celiac Disease)

That being said, I hope I passed....

 

[Thinker123]

I still don't know why they need 2 months to review the exam. They should speed that up.

 

[Bone Marrow]

I have taken the exam last week.
I have done MKSAP question only for CV, GI, ID, Pulm/Critical care
I have also done all UW except for Endo, Neuro and Misc.

During my preparation I was taking notes from the questions explanation. Before the exam I reviewed all my notes.

After the exam, I think that the MKSAP questions are almost irrelevant from the real test. UW is much way harder compared to the real exam but I think it prepares you very well for the exam. UW was asking about the same concept in the real exam. There was almost identical questions as well. I think the best way to prepare to do all the UW which will include most of the important concepts in the MKSAP

 

[432677]

I took exam back Aug 6th and have been looking at these posts. Interestingly, I also got 142 (69.3%) questions correct in 2011 and just barely failed it like the other person said in his or her earlier post.

This year, I did Awesome Review, again MKSAP 15 (87% correct), MedStudy (also 87% correct), and hard core studying for the last 5 weeks leading up to the exam. My studying was moderate in May and June and light from January to April.

I am afraid the exam was no easier this year. It was about the same or maybe slightly more difficult. I did all I could do including taking notes on stuff. Even if I had studied 12 hrs daily for an entire year and had no job or family to focus on, I don't think it would have been easier. A lot of questions seemed to come out of nowhere. Pretty much everything I studied including Awesome Review did not appear on the real test to any significant degree which is the same thing that happened last year when I did MKSAP only. The few things which did appear from these sources were asked in very bizarre ways which were very different from the way they appeared in Awesome Review or other sources. I have heard some people say, "My exam was just like MedStudy/Awesome Review/etc" though I have never had that experience. Maybe I am the unlucky person whose random assortment of questions from the question bank happens to be questions which are nothing like those sources.

I just don't know what to say. Never had any difficulty with any of my 3 USMLE steps unlike some of my classmates who could not pass them in single attempts but who did pass ABIM in one attempt. I also went to good US schools for everything and was told by multiple people from 4th year med school up until last year of residency that I should be fine on my boards. People not as strong on ITEs as I had done passed in one attempt and people much better than I am have failed multiple times. You pretty much had to be bottom 16% on last year's exam and my ITEs were in mid 40's twice and mid 20's once which are both well above this cut off. This exam has been a weird experience to say the least.

Some say to know one single source like MKSAP or MedStudy extremely well rather than spreading yourself too thin on multiple sources. Maybe I am a person who needs multiple sources including reading all of Harrison's. This is so strange because I have never had difficulty in my everyday clinical practice and have been very successful as a practicing hospitalist, in fact, more so than my certified colleagues. I just wish I knew which sources are truly high yield and representative of the real exam and I would start studying from them now even though my result is still pending.

I am really scared of losing this awesome new job I just started because it gave me only one year from August to get certified. Things seem to be going well and I am getting good feedback but I signed on paper that I agree to get certified no later than Aug of 2013. I am really scared of losing this great job and not being able to make a living. I can't think of a single gig in my area that does not require certification and I have a family to support.

I am really, really hoping all of us pass, especially people like me who have unfortunately failed before.

 

[2012ABIM]

I took exam back Aug 6th and have been looking at these posts. Interestingly, I also got 142 (69.3%) questions correct in 2011 and just barely failed it like the other person said in his or her earlier post.

This year, I did Awesome Review, again MKSAP 15 (87% correct), MedStudy (also 87% correct), and hard core studying for the last 5 weeks leading up to the exam. My studying was moderate in May and June and light from January to April.

I am afraid the exam was no easier this year. It was about the same or maybe slightly more difficult. I did all I could do including taking notes on stuff. Even if I had studied 12 hrs daily for an entire year and had no job or family to focus on, I don't think it would have been easier. A lot of questions seemed to come out of nowhere. Pretty much everything I studied including Awesome Review did not appear on the real test to any significant degree which is the same thing that happened last year when I did MKSAP only. The few things which did appear from these sources were asked in very bizarre ways which were very different from the way they appeared in Awesome Review or other sources. I have heard some people say, "My exam was just like MedStudy/Awesome Review/etc" though I have never had that experience. Maybe I am the unlucky person whose random assortment of questions from the question bank happens to be questions which are nothing like those sources.

I just don't know what to say. Never had any difficulty with any of my 3 USMLE steps unlike some of my classmates who could not pass them in single attempts but who did pass ABIM in one attempt. I also went to good US schools for everything and was told by multiple people from 4th year med school up until last year of residency that I should be fine on my boards. People not as strong on ITEs as I had done passed in one attempt and people much better than I am have failed multiple times. You pretty much had to be bottom 16% on last year's exam and my ITEs were in mid 40's twice and mid 20's once which are both well above this cut off. This exam has been a weird experience to say the least.

Some say to know one single source like MKSAP or MedStudy extremely well rather than spreading yourself too thin on multiple sources. Maybe I am a person who needs multiple sources including reading all of Harrison's. This is so strange because I have never had difficulty in my everyday clinical practice and have been very successful as a practicing hospitalist, in fact, more so than my certified colleagues. I just wish I knew which sources are truly high yield and representative of the real exam and I would start studying from them now even though my result is still pending.

I am really scared of losing this awesome new job I just started because it gave me only one year from August to get certified. Things seem to be going well and I am getting good feedback but I signed on paper that I agree to get certified no later than Aug of 2013. I am really scared of losing this great job and not being able to make a living. I can't think of a single gig in my area that does not require certification and I have a family to support.

I am really, really hoping all of us pass, especially people like me who have unfortunately failed before.

I am in the same boat. I failed last year and did comprehensive study for 2012 ABIM including Medstudy, MKSAP, Awesome Review. I am a hospitalist, studied from Dec 2011, and had 1 month off before the exam to study 12-14hours/day. I had a feeling that the exam for re-takers is more dufficult for first-time takers. Lots of questions I could not find anywhere in the book I read, Some questions have overlapped presentation and very confusing. Now I am afraid that I might fail again.

I also signed 1 year requirement for ABIM but my current employer has problem with staff and they could not find enough doctors to cover all shifts so I don't have the pressure to resign. However, I am looking for a new job because when you failed ABIM, poeople look at you differently even you are a good hospitalist.

 

[Thinker123]

I took exam back Aug 6th and have been looking at these posts. Interestingly, I also got 142 (69.3%) questions correct in 2011 and just barely failed it like the other person said in his or her earlier post.

This year, I did Awesome Review, again MKSAP 15 (87% correct), MedStudy (also 87% correct), and hard core studying for the last 5 weeks leading up to the exam. My studying was moderate in May and June and light from January to April.

I am afraid the exam was no easier this year. It was about the same or maybe slightly more difficult. I did all I could do including taking notes on stuff. Even if I had studied 12 hrs daily for an entire year and had no job or family to focus on, I don't think it would have been easier. A lot of questions seemed to come out of nowhere. Pretty much everything I studied including Awesome Review did not appear on the real test to any significant degree which is the same thing that happened last year when I did MKSAP only. The few things which did appear from these sources were asked in very bizarre ways which were very different from the way they appeared in Awesome Review or other sources. I have heard some people say, "My exam was just like MedStudy/Awesome Review/etc" though I have never had that experience. Maybe I am the unlucky person whose random assortment of questions from the question bank happens to be questions which are nothing like those sources.

I just don't know what to say. Never had any difficulty with any of my 3 USMLE steps unlike some of my classmates who could not pass them in single attempts but who did pass ABIM in one attempt. I also went to good US schools for everything and was told by multiple people from 4th year med school up until last year of residency that I should be fine on my boards. People not as strong on ITEs as I had done passed in one attempt and people much better than I am have failed multiple times. You pretty much had to be bottom 16% on last year's exam and my ITEs were in mid 40's twice and mid 20's once which are both well above this cut off. This exam has been a weird experience to say the least.

Some say to know one single source like MKSAP or MedStudy extremely well rather than spreading yourself too thin on multiple sources. Maybe I am a person who needs multiple sources including reading all of Harrison's. This is so strange because I have never had difficulty in my everyday clinical practice and have been very successful as a practicing hospitalist, in fact, more so than my certified colleagues. I just wish I knew which sources are truly high yield and representative of the real exam and I would start studying from them now even though my result is still pending.

I am really scared of losing this awesome new job I just started because it gave me only one year from August to get certified. Things seem to be going well and I am getting good feedback but I signed on paper that I agree to get certified no later than Aug of 2013. I am really scared of losing this great job and not being able to make a living. I can't think of a single gig in my area that does not require certification and I have a family to support.

I am really, really hoping all of us pass, especially people like me who have unfortunately failed before.

That is a heart felt story I can relate to. I also took it August 6th so it was probably the same exam. I have failed it twice before (spaced apart...last attempt 2010) but honestly this is the first time I have put in the appropriate studying. Lots of valid excuses in the past but who cares? Bottom line is results. I too have seen people who were not too good in residency pass on first attempt.

I hope for me, 3rd time is the charm. I feel a little better than before but my 4th session was hard...enough to give me pause. Meanwhile I keep thinking about 4 or so that I know I missed.

I can't get over so many things that I knew really well that were not tested.

We'll see. I hope we all pass. I hope you get to keep your job no matter what. If things don't go well, maybe they will give you one more shot and say passed by Aug 2013 and give you a buffer period with proof you sat for the exam until the results come back.

 

[Thinker123]

I am in the same boat. I failed last year and did comprehensive study for 2012 ABIM including Medstudy, MKSAP, Awesome Review. I am a hospitalist, studied from Dec 2011, and had 1 month off before the exam to study 12-14hours/day. I had a feeling that the exam for re-takers is more dufficult for first-time takers. Lots of questions I could not find anywhere in the book I read, Some questions have overlapped presentation and very confusing. Now I am afraid that I might fail again.

I also signed 1 year requirement for ABIM but my current employer has problem with staff and they could not find enough doctors to cover all shifts so I don't have the pressure to resign. However, I am looking for a new job because when you failed ABIM, poeople look at you differently even you are a good hospitalist.

You were the one with that theory...harder test for retakers. Why not just ask ABIM by email. They can't lie. Either they give a harder test or not. I doubt they do.

 

[432677]

I appreciate your reply and your sympathy. Glad to know some people are rooting for me as I am rooting for them.
I basically felt like I knew a bunch of things cold that didn't get tested this time around and it was new knowledge I had obtained from intensive studying & Awesome Review this time, so my experience is similar to yours.

I have a buddy who is well into his 40's who never got boarded and has been doing hospitalist medicine successfully for many years. He assured that the board requirement in people's contracts is a "feeble threat" so long as you are doing a good job and not making problems for people. He believes they would keep me anyway. After all, that is how he stayed employed. I don't want to count on it though. I have to be prepared for any possibility including taking a job only non boarded people can get. It is both scary and sad at the same time. I don't want my career to be over the first couple years out of residency because of one test.

My friend also mentioned that "You were incredibly close to passing last time within a fraction of fraction and if you did all this extra work to prepare compared to last time, it should have put you over the hurdle." I hope he is right but it wasn't any easier this year. Pass rates also seem to be going down each year.

As far as getting a grace period to wait for a result after a potential 3rd attempt, I don't know if it makes me feel much better. It was hard the first 2 times, and I am really doubting my ability to pass no matter how many times I take it with no matter how much preparation I do. It is very discouraging. If I end up not passing a second time, don't know that I would have good chances my 3rd time. The repeat test taker pass rate is low. It is so bizarre because I never had difficulty with any other test in my life like MCAT or USMLEs, etc. I know people who passed this test who had great difficulty with these other previous tests and needed multiple attempts or who couldn't get the MCAT they needed to stay in the US for medical school.

This test seems to be a huge obstacle for me and not for most other people (given high passing rate) including ones I thought were not as strong or who couldn't get into as good schools as I got into. I guess it means I should be humbled by this experience. I thought too highly of myself the first time around and still found it difficult this time. On the other hand, I don't have my result back yet and can still have hope for a pass even if it is by one point. Some of my friends who passed the exam were sure they failed after walking out of it. Hope we are all pleasantly surprised as well.

 

[VitruvianMan]

Anyone try the new "internal medicine in-review" board review web site? I heard about it at a conference. Supposed to be free but it's still new so I don't know if anyone has found it helpful or not. Seems decent.

 

[Thinker123]

I have a buddy who is well into his 40's who never got boarded and has been doing hospitalist medicine successfully for many years. He assured that the board requirement in people's contracts is a "feeble threat" so long as you are doing a good job and not making problems for people. He believes they would keep me anyway.

Yeah...hospital bylaws are hospital bylaws but they always have the power to make an exception. I think they would in your case but don't count on "indefinitely". Hospitals that have trouble recruiting people are more lenient.

I believe certification will become a big deal soon. What makes me say that?

• Recently they came up with this 7 year deal of eligibility. After 7 years you may no longer say you are eligible. Facilities like to say all their practitioners are either board eligible or certified. It won;t be attractive to be non board eligible and non certified. They have allowed a grace period for this transition.
• ABIM is moving towards a process where you need to do stuff every 2 years to stay certified. The exam will still be every 10 years but there will be other stuff. I believe they are trying to make it so medicare/ insurance companies and others use their certification as their monitoring of physicians (self policing) and it may even tie in to your reimbursement. Once it means less money, facilities will care. The head even talked about revealing more info about us besides just "certified" or "not certified" ...scary...in the name of transparency. he talked about scores etc. Hopefully they won't start publishing that stuff in the future.

 

[432677]

I have a more general question regarding my chances for passing this time around given I was so close in 2011. If anyone has any idea, please comment.

I am aware the pass rate overall for retakers is discouragingly low and I have seen posts about that passing rate from year 2011's forum on the ABIM. None of the posts seemed to address my specific situation (scored 368 out of a needed 370 for a pass which also happened to be 142 of 205 questions correct for 69.3% accuracy). I am guessing there may be no point in me asking this question. It may be a crapshoot for all of us who didn't pass regardless of how close we came to the threshold. At the same time, it appears ABIM is trying to drive the pass rate lower each year.

On the other hand, it seems like tons of people who post to these sites were also very close to passing and some of them even with 369. Makes me think that most everyone who failed was really close and therefore I should expect that pass rate in 30's is applicable to all of us who are re takers. Furthermore, I am hearing stories of people who were not as close (like 340 for example) might have only missed 2-3 more questions than I did and maybe some of them with 340 missed fewer than I did. Feels like final scoring and pass/fail result is kinda random in many cases for these reasons.

I didn't take the exam seriously and only used MKSAP 15 twice in 2011 and spent more time on things other than studying the month before the exam since I had just moved in July of 2011. Can't use that excuse this time. I started studying Jan or Feb and gradually picked up the pace to intense all day studying from a month before the exam. As stated in my earlier post, did Awesome Review, MKSAP, and MedStudy this time, and took notes on MedStudy questions but did not feel like very much of the real exam actually came from any of these sources and found it about as difficult as in 2011 or maybe slightly more so. After all, passing rate has been dropping.

My friends tell me, "if you studied that much more and did all that extra stuff compared to 2011 when you failed by only 2 points, then I am sure it was more than enough to get you over that small difference to pass this time." The difference may actually be larger if the pass rate again becomes lower as it has been doing each year.

Since it felt about as hard as last time, I am not so sure how I am going to do.

I am interested in anyone who has ideas or personal experience about this matter. I just keep hoping for the best for all of us and that those of us like me that are so scared about what may happen end up pleasantly surprised in a month.

 

[Bestest]

Hey, I'm the one who scored 144/205 last year (a '350 standardized score', whatever that means), and still failed. I sympathize with you. Studied my tail off this year and still found the test ridiculously hard and random. Am really scared that I failed again, and am totally not sure what to do next. I don't know if I can bring myself to do this studying all over again without guarantee of passing. I have never failed anything else in my life. I'm actually really dreading the end of October. I have no idea how to restudy next time. I wish someone would set up a special tutoring service for imbeciles like me, who spent the past over a decade immersed in a medical career that may go nowhere if I fail again. There must be a lot of us. A 15% fail rate initially, combined with a subsequent 30% pass rate, means that there are a lot of non-board certified IM people out there. Where do you go from here? Serving big macs or something? My current job sort of has me in limbo, pending the outcome of my re-take. I am still holding out some hope but have no idea what to do if I don't pass. Seriously, I would pay top dollar to get some smart person to sit down and tutor me in how to pass this thing. Some entrepreneur should realize this and market a similar service.

Sorry for the vent. Hope we all pass. I just have no idea how to do it all again if need be.

 

[432677]

Hey, I'm the one who scored 144/205 last year (a '350 standardized score', whatever that means), and still failed. I sympathize with you. Studied my tail off this year and still found the test ridiculously hard and random. Am really scared that I failed again, and am totally not sure what to do next. I don't know if I can bring myself to do this studying all over again without guarantee of passing. I have never failed anything else in my life. I'm actually really dreading the end of October. I have no idea how to restudy next time. I wish someone would set up a special tutoring service for imbeciles like me, who spent the past over a decade immersed in a medical career that may go nowhere if I fail again. There must be a lot of us. A 15% fail rate initially, combined with a subsequent 30% pass rate, means that there are a lot of non-board certified IM people out there. Where do you go from here? Serving big macs or something? My current job sort of has me in limbo, pending the outcome of my re-take. I am still holding out some hope but have no idea what to do if I don't pass. Seriously, I would pay top dollar to get some smart person to sit down and tutor me in how to pass this thing. Some entrepreneur should realize this and market a similar service.

Sorry for the vent. Hope we all pass. I just have no idea how to do it all again if need be.

I feel your pain. I don't know any source from which I can study that would make his exam feel passable. It feels like i could take every possible review course, read all Harrison's, and study all day everyday for a year and it would not make me more prepared for this test. If anyone knows a source that really works and will make me pass even if by one point, I would be very interested to find out. It is interesting that you got a couple more right but somehow got 18 points less than I did. It makes me more scared for my result especially since yo have been practicing for decade without passing yet. I don't know how I will pay off med school loans and support my family if I lose my job over this.

 

[Bestest]

Thanks for the sympathy. Just to clarify- by a decade I am including all the time during college, med school, and residency as well as my one (and only) year as an attending. If I had found a job where I had been able to practice as a physician for a decade without passing my boards, I'd feel much more confident. But as it is I took a job whose permanence is predicated on me passing my boards, which was supposed to happen this time around. I've only been there for a year. Not sure where I go from here if I do not pass.

 

[Thinker123]

We are all in the same boat. I still thought it was hard but I feel better this time. It's a crazy scary game. By the end of next month, we will all know.