Official ABIM 2012 Thread

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Thanks in advance.
Ha. bandino, even though I recommended Med Study videos, it is because it is what you are using and have used and i think it would be good to build on it. My partner and i used to laugh though at all the stuff in there "Know Cold!!!" "Know Perfectly!"...yeah whatever. There was a lot of stuff you didn't need to know cold from Medstudy...and I was laughing during lunch. The issue is you never know what might show up. So many people swear by it that I think it's a safe bet. I just decided to know MKSAP questions and explanations perfectly instead. Again...I used Pass machine to feel different. I needed a confidence booster.

Best of Luck. I think all of it is just supplement to MKSAP Questions...no matter what you use.

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@ Bandito-I have failed also, x2, so I know your pain. Knowing you take good care of your patients and love your job only to have one test say you may not be fit. I cannot even begin to put together a plan although i know I am not giving up. I want to do mksap16, BB3, medstudy questions and videos also. Not sure if it would be prudent to retake in August,2013 or wait until 2014(last two times I took the test in August). I guess I have to see the score report. I feel like a coaching service to learn how to take the test would be great-but alas, I am not sure that exists. What r your plans in terms of retesting? Lets be study partners.

Good. Don't quit. Find a Study Partner and have fun studying. If you make it fun...realizing you are having fun and becoming a more knowledgeable doc, it will make it easier to dedicate the proper time. As for right away or waiting, you can decide later (By Feb 1st i think). If you have it in you and have a good partner lined up, I would say go for it.

I already see the positive attitude you guys are having and you guys make me feel like studying! LOL It really can be fun.
 
I have been after that 5 percent for the past three years. I am feeling very discouraged as a result. People are telling me to take it one more time. I'm now a mental mess and don't know the threshold of deciding for a career change. Very discouraged and confused. A very bad combination if I were to take this example again. If I score similar to previous times then I will have a lot to think about.
 
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I have been after that 5 percent for the past three years. I am feeling very discouraged as a result. People are telling me to take it one more time. I'm now a mental mess and don't know the threshold of deciding for a career change. Very discouraged and confused. A very bad combination if I were to take this example again. If I score similar to previous times then I will have a lot to think about.

I am very sorry you are going through this. First of all, why would you consider a career change? Aren't there many jobs out there where you do not need to be certified? Or am I wrong in thinking this? You could also join a private practice group? I guess my question to everyone is, what if you just don't get certified??? Also, are there tutors out there for this exam? I failed this year..and I'm really considering getting a tutor. I want to give myself the best chance to pass the exam next year. I'm full of anxiety over this exam! :scared:
 
I have been after that 5 percent for the past three years. I am feeling very discouraged as a result. People are telling me to take it one more time. I'm now a mental mess and don't know the threshold of deciding for a career change. Very discouraged and confused. A very bad combination if I were to take this example again. If I score similar to previous times then I will have a lot to think about.

No...You are 95% done. No need to quit on the 5%. Don't feel discouraged. I was sad too until I found this forum. It was helpful to know there were other people like me who ran into the challenge.

Next time you will do better because you will have a better plan and execution. You will have support of a study partner and you will have some good teachers in the form of the video reviews! You can do it! Make sure you pick someone with a fun attitude and make sure you laugh a lot! Start early (Jan or Feb).
 
I need some encouragement and I'm hoping I've come to the right place. I have now failed the IM board exam 4 times as of Thursday when I found out this year's disappointing results. I have struggled with exams since starting medical school and yet I've excelled everywhere else. I've completed a 3 year subspecialty fellowship at a highly regarded institution and I'm not in sub-subspecialty training at another highly regarded institution. Yet, I'm not eligible to take boards in my specialty or sub-specialty and now I'll be 4+ years removed from residency when I take the test yet again in August 2013. I've used Medstudy, MKSAP, ACP courses, private tutors all without success. This exam has dominated my existence for half a decade now and it's easily the most embarrassing thing I've had to endure. I am successful at essentially all other aspects of my life, but this exam keeps dragging me down and I'm not sure how to proceed. Anyone with any suggestions? It does help to know there are other physicians out there in similar situations (although I think I'm in really rare air with 4 failures) and I need to hear from you and others because it feels really lonely where I'm at.
 
I need some encouragement and I'm hoping I've come to the right place. I have now failed the IM board exam 4 times as of Thursday when I found out this year's disappointing results. I have struggled with exams since starting medical school and yet I've excelled everywhere else. I've completed a 3 year subspecialty fellowship at a highly regarded institution and I'm not in sub-subspecialty training at another highly regarded institution. Yet, I'm not eligible to take boards in my specialty or sub-specialty and now I'll be 4+ years removed from residency when I take the test yet again in August 2013. I've used Medstudy, MKSAP, ACP courses, private tutors all without success. This exam has dominated my existence for half a decade now and it's easily the most embarrassing thing I've had to endure. I am successful at essentially all other aspects of my life, but this exam keeps dragging me down and I'm not sure how to proceed. Anyone with any suggestions? It does help to know there are other physicians out there in similar situations (although I think I'm in really rare air with 4 failures) and I need to hear from you and others because it feels really lonely where I'm at.

Hang in there. There was somebody on the 2011 boards forums her that had tried 5 times. I'm not looking down at that person either. When i heard it though, it made me feel more comfortable at the time. I had failed twice (spaced out over time). I had never fully put in the appropriate time and never did all the MKSAP questions. I was using poor technique like reading from the top of the passage without reading the question and answers first. I was studying by myself in secret and never could really get motivated. I finally passed this time. This time I did some different things:

1. Study Partner -key for me. I needed studying to be fun and need someone to keep me honest. Knowing that it was an important test alone didn't motivate me. It just stressed me out. LOL I like to talk, listen, debate, share, interact. I don't like letting people down so where if I were on my own, I could always extend the deadline, if you are meeting with your partner at 7, you are meeting at 7! I met my partner here on the forums! I remember when he said "Let's do this!" Well we did it and we both passed. We used Skype.

2. Some Video Review
-I needed to be lectured. I don't like getting all my info from reading so videos were key. I chose Pass Machine (just wanted to be different). I felt like I was getting my own personal tutor. Psychologically i just needed something different than what everyone else was doing. I wanted something fresh.

3. MKSAP Questions -I actually did them all ...2-3 times. Admittedly, sometimes on the follow up i did them in abbreviated review style. The first time though, we thoroughly went through each question and the full answers (taking turns reading odd and even). If you do it the right way be reading the question and answers first, you will develop some skills that are key and when the exam comes you will just feel like "Oh...this is the skill I need to pull out"
-Separating the cause of renal failure based on data
-Deciding what the best next step is in Asthma therapy
-What screening should a man of this age be receiving.
etc.
My point is you will be equipped with a set of skills.

4. Board Basics 2 (3 will be coming out soon). On this forum was where I first heard about it and the person was so excited it got me excited. So I ordered it. I was quite pleased. The material in there is very high yield. In addition it will help you develop those skills described in #3.

So basically...you want to go in there with a set of skills, recognize which you are being asked to demonstrate and execute.

I got confused about what you are doing now after your fellowship. I'm assuming that "not" in bold is "now"...meaning you are doing an additional fellowship. Man...you might need to do a research year and study. You can't have 3 exams lined up. Get the IM out of the way at least so the first fellowship material is still in your head.
 
Hello all,

Thank you to everyone who has been successful on this exam and has taken time to write about their methods of study. And to those (like myself) who did not pass, I am sure we'll be successful next time if we heed the advice of these kind-hearted posters.

I firmly believe that my success will be dependent upon having a reliable study partner. I have only once previously studied with a buddy/partner and it was quite effective. Currently, I am a first year fellow in a relatively academics-heavy field and program. I know I have to make time for this exam. I am motivated. However, having a partner to study with ensure that we are keeping up with our pre-set goals and meeting deadlines.

If you would like to discuss studying with me, please email me at [email protected].

Looking forward to hearing from someone like-minded.
 
This is ridiculous. First year used MKSAP and was off by 20 points, knew I probably failedafter I walked out of that exam it was so horrible. So this year took time off from work, spent 1200 bucks on frontrunners course, and did med study Q bank as well....walked out the test sure I passed....and I FAILED...AGAIN!! I don't know what else to do? I am getting Married next Aug 3rd, I want to enjoy my wedding and will have **** to do, inc work so I am not sure if I should take it again next year or move my wedding if possible, but I don't think I can work as a Hospitalist for ore than 3 years being board eligible. I don't know what to do, I am so frustrated....and I work where I did my residency so this is even more humiliating. I'm worried they are going to fire me because of this. I am going to wait for my score report and compare it to last year, I can't imagine doing worse since I put so much more time in this time around. I did not use MKSAP because I didn't feel like any of the questions were helpful on my first exam. Anyways, if I do take it next year I will probably take a review course (I have heard Awesome review is good), it seems like everyone who passed did MKSAP 10 times and UW, even though the questions were hard. And I didn't know about the BB. I actually thought the medstudy bank was right on compared to the test questions, much more so than MKSAP, but clearly I was wrong otherwise I would have passed. What frustrates me is I know people who used my study materials and put in a lot less time and passed!! Anyways, I live in the LA area and am looking for a study partner, I think having a dedicated schedule is key and I definitely need that to keep me on track and motivated. But I am looking for someone serious...I can't afford to fail this for a third time. If anyone has any other suggestions I am more than open, especially if you have been in my situation and been successful. Thanks
 
I also heard Harrisons board review was good. ANy thoughts?
 
Hi all:

I'm impressed by all the encouragement and support in this forum. I truly appreciate it. I want to say that although I have been down and upset after knowing my results this is not going to stop me from trying.
I have taken your advice to get a study partner. In fact, several people have contacted me, please don't think I am ignoring you, I will get back to you soon! I have been working all weekend and it has been hard for me to take a break.
I wanted to say to those who are in the same situation as me and the person who is getting married next year, if you have something important you might want to reconsider taking the test at a later date. I made the mistake of taking the exam when I was going through some rough times and, of course, I did not pas. If you have an important event in your life by all means reconsider. This is only a test and you are better delaying it one year than risking another failure and not being able to say you are board eligible. We are trained to keep going no matter what, but honestly, we are all human and LIFE HAPPENS. It is not a sign of weakness to take a break, regroup and get organized. You have to be focused while you study in order to pass this test otherwise it is almost certain you will not do well. You know you are a good physician who can take care of your patients. There is no written test that measures your true potential.
Thanks again to the people in this forum.
 
What do you guys think: I went through all the mksap books last year...and did not touch Board basics book. I made notes on all the mksap books which I still have. Do you think I should focus on The board basics book this time and supplement with my notes from mksap? Maybe by going through all the mksap books last time, I spread myself too thin? What suggestions do you guys have for me.
 
hi everyone

i have failed the abim exam twice and now finally passed on my third attempt.
this forum is where i came to for encouragement and advice. i promised myself that once i passed i would post what worked for me and share with everyone so hopefully it will help someone else.

i want to say that i went to a US medical school, graduated AOA, went to a highly ranked internal medicine residency and then fellowship. i am currently an attending. i had never failed a standardized exam until the abim. i was never a great test taker but passed step 1-3 on the first attempt, and all my shelf exams in medical school.

i didn't do great on my in-training exams when i took them during 2nd and 3rd year residency, scored about a 50-55% on both so ranked in the 15th-20th percentile. So my program director did tell me at that time that there was a concern i would fail when i took the abim exam.

my first attempt at the abim exam was right after finishing residency. i was in a somewhat busy fellowship.
-started studying in April,
-read through mksap books x 1 and took notes,
-did mksap 14 and 15 x 1
- i was getting about 50-60% of the questions right.
i had a lot of family stuff going on plus fellowship but tried to study on the weekends and after work. i took the exam seriously but not seriously enough.
- i failed by a lot (more than 50 points).

i was devastated to say the least. i actually didn't think i failed when i took the exam. all the other fellows in my program passed. i was so embarrassed and shocked. i didn't even tell anyone i failed except my husband and parents. i know that people can look up your name and see whether or not you passed so i dont know if other people at work knew i failed and didn't say anything. i was paranoid people would find out and i felt really alone.

so i decided not to say anything and signed up to take it again the following year. i started studying in January.
- read med study x 3, took notes in the margins,
- did mksap 14 and 15 questions x 2. scoring about 60-70% by the end
read through all the explanations.
- i studied after work, every weekend i wasn't on call. i even took my books on any weekend trips or vacations i had planned with my husband. i was so sure i would pass the second time. when i took the exam, i felt more confident and definitely knew more material than the first time.
-again i failed, this time only by 20 points. so i was closer than my first attempt but not close enough.

again i was shocked, devastated and felt alone. i must've cried a week straight. when i got my score report, i obviously had done better than the previous year in most sections. some sections that i had done well in the first time around i did worse the second time around. it was horrible. my husband was really encouraging. he also did his medicine residency but passed abim on the first try.

he helped me get back on track after the second failure. we made a more stringent study plan. this time i started studying in December. by this time i was in my second year of fellowship.
i tried to put in at least 1 hour a day during the week, and 4-5 hours each weekend i was free.

i read med study again - i ended up going through it about 3x by August
watched the med study videos and took notes in the med study books
i started doing mksap questions
i took the awesome review course 4-5 months before my exam
i then started using the awesome review syllabus as my guide and started taking notes in it whenever i got questions wrong
when i read medstudy for the 2nd and 3rd time i took notes in my awesome review syllabus
by July I had finished fellowship, read med study 2x, done mksap 14 and 15 once (still scoring in the 60-70%), watched the med study videos x 1, and had taken the board review course.

i then took 5 weeks off to study and did not start my job until after my boards.
during those five weeks, i did all of mksap 14 and 15 again, was scoring much better, about 75-80%. i read my awesome review syllabus 3-4x. read med study one more time.
i literally studied 10-12 hours a day for 5 weeks straight.
when i took the exam this time, i still didn't feel great. i even cried when i came home and told my husband ill probably be taking it again in 2013.

and now i am board certified!

i would come on the abim 2011 forum multiple times for breaks to get words of encouragement from other people and i really felt hopeful that other people who had failed finally passed.

i just want other people to know that you can do it!
you just have to find what works for you, make a schedule, stick to it and try your best.
for me starting early was key. i am no good at cramming information in at the last minute.
having a good support system is a MUST! i wouldn't have been able to do it without my husband's encouragement

the third time around i did everything i could think of: med study books, mksap questions, med study videos, board review course, taking notes, and taking time off which was dedicated to just studying.

i now am a year behind the other fellows i graduated with in terms of taking my fellowship boards but at least i am now eligible to take them! so i will now be studying for those.

i hope this post helps other people. it was a really long and difficult journey for me. i am glad that i finally passed and can move forward.
you can too if you failed. do not be discouraged. it is a very hard exam. you have to be honest with yourself and put in the time and effort and try different things.
you will pass! you have to believe in yourself!
 
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This is ridiculous. First year used MKSAP and was off by 20 points, knew I probably failedafter I walked out of that exam it was so horrible. So this year took time off from work, spent 1200 bucks on frontrunners course, and did med study Q bank as well....walked out the test sure I passed....and I FAILED...AGAIN!! I don't know what else to do? I am getting Married next Aug 3rd, I want to enjoy my wedding and will have **** to do, inc work so I am not sure if I should take it again next year or move my wedding if possible, but I don't think I can work as a Hospitalist for ore than 3 years being board eligible. I don't know what to do, I am so frustrated....and I work where I did my residency so this is even more humiliating. I'm worried they are going to fire me because of this. I am going to wait for my score report and compare it to last year, I can't imagine doing worse since I put so much more time in this time around. I did not use MKSAP because I didn't feel like any of the questions were helpful on my first exam. Anyways, if I do take it next year I will probably take a review course (I have heard Awesome review is good), it seems like everyone who passed did MKSAP 10 times and UW, even though the questions were hard. And I didn't know about the BB. I actually thought the medstudy bank was right on compared to the test questions, much more so than MKSAP, but clearly I was wrong otherwise I would have passed. What frustrates me is I know people who used my study materials and put in a lot less time and passed!! Anyways, I live in the LA area and am looking for a study partner, I think having a dedicated schedule is key and I definitely need that to keep me on track and motivated. But I am looking for someone serious...I can't afford to fail this for a third time. If anyone has any other suggestions I am more than open, especially if you have been in my situation and been successful. Thanks
Hello chick MD. Keep your head up. I know the feeling of failing twice and knowing you have to regroup. I am also planning a wedding with my wife-that we had already delayed after I failed the first time and "put my foot down to study for the boards", only to fail again. Needless to say, I cannot delay the wedding and need to pass. Lets be study partners. I want to do Medstudy qs,video,mksap,bb. I am humbled completely and really want to get this done...
 
I need some encouragement and I'm hoping I've come to the right place. I have now failed the IM board exam 4 times as of Thursday when I found out this year's disappointing results. I have struggled with exams since starting medical school and yet I've excelled everywhere else. I've completed a 3 year subspecialty fellowship at a highly regarded institution and I'm not in sub-subspecialty training at another highly regarded institution. Yet, I'm not eligible to take boards in my specialty or sub-specialty and now I'll be 4+ years removed from residency when I take the test yet again in August 2013. I've used Medstudy, MKSAP, ACP courses, private tutors all without success. This exam has dominated my existence for half a decade now and it's easily the most embarrassing thing I've had to endure. I am successful at essentially all other aspects of my life, but this exam keeps dragging me down and I'm not sure how to proceed. Anyone with any suggestions? It does help to know there are other physicians out there in similar situations (although I think I'm in really rare air with 4 failures) and I need to hear from you and others because it feels really lonely where I'm at.
Hello failure x4- Sorry to hear about your results. Clearly you are a respected physician with a solid clinical acumen. This test just does not test that. It is an important hurdle but not a measure of how qualified you are. Keep trying, but try something different. I have failed twice so who knows how good advice that is, it's posted a lot here though. Maybe trying to deconstruct the test? You will get there. You can do this.
 
Hello SDN friends,

I would check this forum often through the years but never really wanted to go through the hastle of registration. I just finished residency and am happy to report that somehow I miraculously PASSED! I say this since I was hospitalized and took about a month to recover from a serious illness for all of July. Being sick practically wiped out all I learned. I took the exam 3 weeks later on Aug. 22 and was so convinced I didn't pass due to the month of studying I lost, I actually started studying before I got the results!! I'm at a prestigious institution so it would have really looked bad if I didn't pass and I have been stressed since I took the exam on how I would break the news I didn't pass.

I wanted to offer advice to those who are having difficulty passing. I had all the resources: MedStudy books & Videos, MKSAP, question banks, etc. My most helpful resource was the AWSOME BOARD REVIEW and just keep reading that book over and over again until you have practically memorized where each subject matter is. Based on what I've been reading, for those who didn't pass, they did not mention it as a resource, so I would consider it. When I took the course, some people were actually taking it a 2nd time! (They had taken the course a couple months back and can take it again for like $300 so they can just sit back and absorb rather than furiously take notes). For me, I know this is definately what made the difference. Hoping this advice will help some of you out there. Best wishes. :thumbup:
 
Some of you have mentioned using a tutor. I am just curious. How do you find them? Is this through your residency program? It seems so rare to have someone dedicated to help with the ABIM. I don't think I will use one but it may help others. Please share the information.
 
Hello all,

Thank you to everyone who has been successful on this exam and has taken time to write about their methods of study. And to those (like myself) who did not pass, I am sure we'll be successful next time if we heed the advice of these kind-hearted posters.

I firmly believe that my success will be dependent upon having a reliable study partner. I have only once previously studied with a buddy/partner and it was quite effective. Currently, I am a first year fellow in a relatively academics-heavy field and program. I know I have to make time for this exam. I am motivated. However, having a partner to study with ensure that we are keeping up with our pre-set goals and meeting deadlines.

If you would like to discuss studying with me, please email me at [email protected].

Looking forward to hearing from someone like-minded.
You are 100% right about the study partner. I'm not saying everyone needs one but there are certain people who will do much much better with one. I needed one for sure.

Some tips:
1. Skype is free
2. Make sure to laugh some. Your mind will be more interested in studying if it thinks you are having fun.
3. When you do the schedule, allow for the possibility that you may need to redo it. It's nice to have that option. We would fall behind from time to time but it was OK. Once in a while I redid the schedule to make sure we were on pace again. It's still much better than you could do on your own. I would recommend a minimum of 2 weeks per each of the 11 topics (MKSAP) followed by 2 days of each topic in the 22 days before the exam. You may even want 3-4 days off before the exam to fill the gaps. If you do it this way, you will find if you goof, 2 weeks can be changed to 10 days and that can be tightened to 1 week. It's nice because that is if worse comes to worst. If you start with one week and something goes wrong, you are screwed. Same with the 2 days per topic. it can be cut to 1 and a half and even 1 if worse comes to worst.
4. If your partner needs to cancel, no biggie. Fill in the time with something else you need to do the next day etc. (don't just take it off-watch a video or something). Your partner will make up the time then you can review later. There is always something you can do so the time is not wasted. Be kind because you may need to cancel some time too. The main thing I will say is make sure the foundation for doing the questions is light. Sure...you will need to do something before starting. Mine was i needed to watch my videos...then I was ready. Other reading I did while we were on the topics. If you make it unreasonable (eg. both must finish Medstudy core, BB2, videos) then you will constantly find yourselves where one (or both) are not ready to do questions. So in the above case the person should pick ONE that he/she must finish. Either videos OR BB2/3 OR Med Study Core OR whatever other source. If you are able to finish all before questions, more power to you but don't put off the questions until both have done all. It's good to space the questions so you are not doing more than 20-30 per session. If Your weekend is your free time, you can always meet in the morning and do 20 then take the day off and meet in the night and do 20-30 more.


As someone who has messed up before, I fully endorse the partner Skype system. I wish I had used that right away and saved myself heartache!

Good luck
 
This is ridiculous. First year used MKSAP and was off by 20 points, knew I probably failedafter I walked out of that exam it was so horrible. So this year took time off from work, spent 1200 bucks on frontrunners course, and did med study Q bank as well....walked out the test sure I passed....and I FAILED...AGAIN!! I don't know what else to do? I am getting Married next Aug 3rd, I want to enjoy my wedding and will have **** to do, inc work so I am not sure if I should take it again next year or move my wedding if possible, but I don't think I can work as a Hospitalist for ore than 3 years being board eligible. I don't know what to do, I am so frustrated....and I work where I did my residency so this is even more humiliating. I'm worried they are going to fire me because of this. I am going to wait for my score report and compare it to last year, I can't imagine doing worse since I put so much more time in this time around. I did not use MKSAP because I didn't feel like any of the questions were helpful on my first exam. Anyways, if I do take it next year I will probably take a review course (I have heard Awesome review is good), it seems like everyone who passed did MKSAP 10 times and UW, even though the questions were hard. And I didn't know about the BB. I actually thought the medstudy bank was right on compared to the test questions, much more so than MKSAP, but clearly I was wrong otherwise I would have passed. What frustrates me is I know people who used my study materials and put in a lot less time and passed!! Anyways, I live in the LA area and am looking for a study partner, I think having a dedicated schedule is key and I definitely need that to keep me on track and motivated. But I am looking for someone serious...I can't afford to fail this for a third time. If anyone has any other suggestions I am more than open, especially if you have been in my situation and been successful. Thanks

Stay encouraged. 3rd time was the charm for me. I took them spaced out. I must admit the first 2 times I did not do the MKSAP like i should have. I feel like you need to do it since everyone else is doing it. It is not just the questions but rather the topics that you will be discussing. If you look at some of my posts in this thread, I think you will see which skills I think you need. You develop those skills by approaching the MKSAP questions in a certain way.

As far as what to recommend for content, definitely BB...love that book. I also used a less popular review that I enjoyed -Pass Machine -but I can't say it did some magic for the boards. It just gave me a solid and fun foundation to do the MKSAP questions. I'm hesitant to endorse anything since each person is different.

Study partner is the way to go.

I don't think you will be able to take it with your wedding on that date. If you do plan to take it, you should probably move your wedding up (maybe May), enjoy yourself and dedicate June and July to the boards fully...no joke ...or move it back...maybe October. Take the exam the first possible day in August then enjoy the rest of August September etc. getting ready for your big day.
 
What do you guys think: I went through all the mksap books last year...and did not touch Board basics book. I made notes on all the mksap books which I still have. Do you think I should focus on The board basics book this time and supplement with my notes from mksap? Maybe by going through all the mksap books last time, I spread myself too thin? What suggestions do you guys have for me.

Yes...wait and get Board basics 3 and go through it --combine with the questions and answers. The regular MKSAP books are a bit much. More is not always better. The answers to the questions are excellent and you should thoroughly read them and make sure you are comfortable. When I tried note taking, it slowed me down so I abandoned that. LOL I jotted down mnemonics etc. though. If you overemphasize notes then you are saying you really know what is key. I wasn't sure I could say that. Consider Board Basics your notes of what is key!
 
Congratulations for that passed boards this year and goodluck for next year who did not passed this year.

You will pass next year. Believe me. If you respect the test and honest to yourselfand start a schedule and stick to it.
Of course, Boards are getting harder, I was told when I wasin residency, it was an easy exam and need few weeks of study was sufficient.But it was not true. Believe me.


You will get jobs without Board certification, Beleive me(of course Not your preferred ones).


This forum helped me a lot a year ago and I want to share mystory with you, who are in despair now.Beleive me, I was there.
This was my story.

I started my Job immediately after residency and illprepared for a week and not taken test seriously and failed, felt pain myselfas I thought everyone else was passed the exam except me. I felt isolated andstudied myself with night calls in between and failed again. Lost my Job andfound another one and this time made a schedule and attended Board reviewcourse and did some of MKSAP questions and read Medstudy,No luck, definitelyfelt I should have passed this time. So I requested board to reevaluate the score, got a letterback the score was evaluated correct first time, waste of money, don't wasteyour money.Belive me Not worth it.
So this time I want to take it serious and made a scheduleand stressed myself to study hard and do all questions, but not able tocomplete all the info and questions I want to complete it.Procrastination andtrying to complete the material before starting questions were my mistakes andtook the test and during the test my computer was frozen.Believe me, thingshappen.I am not saying this caused my failure this time.I don't know what elseto do, How to prepare for this test.Then I came to know about this forum andthis changed my life,Belive me it did,because I have passed this time,Yes afterall this failures.

I started early,found a partner here and started questionsMKSAP and BB2 and use BB2 as notes for MKSAP and discussed with partner andcomleted each section x3.
I never failed any standardized tests in the past andfailing Boards was a shock and I gradually isolated myself and paid the price.Believe me.You don't have too.


I know I did not prepared well before as I should. But howto prepare well, talk to others who passed before or study with a partner, andmake this test as priority.Don't silently suffer,that will worsen thesituation.Support from my spouse is enormous.Belive me without that I can'tmake it this time also.


If any thing ,only one thing is important ,Believe inyourself.Believe that you will pass next time,that will give a lot of PositiveEnergy,just imagine you passed next time and half a battle is won.Beleive me.


If I passed after all this, you can too. we are all workedhard to reach this stage.Don't let this test make you weak. If you need seek amedical help.Belive me, we (doctors) are horrible to seek help.

A lot of good people shared their views and experiences andtips about this test, follow whichever method work for you. Secret isperseverance.


If my journey of this test makes at least one person confident and succeed in next year,I will be very glad.I felt Obligated to write my experience,because this forum helped me when I loooked for help and gave me a little encouragement.Pay backtime.



Good Luck.
 
Congratulations for that passed boards this year and goodluck for next year who did not passed this year.

You will pass next year. Believe me. If you respect the test and honest to yourselfand start a schedule and stick to it.
Of course, Boards are getting harder, I was told when I wasin residency, it was an easy exam and need few weeks of study was sufficient.But it was not true. Believe me.


You will get jobs without Board certification, Beleive me(of course Not your preferred ones).


This forum helped me a lot a year ago and I want to share mystory with you, who are in despair now.Beleive me, I was there.
This was my story.

I started my Job immediately after residency and illprepared for a week and not taken test seriously and failed, felt pain myselfas I thought everyone else was passed the exam except me. I felt isolated andstudied myself with night calls in between and failed again. Lost my Job andfound another one and this time made a schedule and attended Board reviewcourse and did some of MKSAP questions and read Medstudy,No luck, definitelyfelt I should have passed this time. So I requested board to reevaluate the score, got a letterback the score was evaluated correct first time, waste of money, don’t wasteyour money.Belive me Not worth it.
So this time I want to take it serious and made a scheduleand stressed myself to study hard and do all questions, but not able tocomplete all the info and questions I want to complete it.Procrastination andtrying to complete the material before starting questions were my mistakes andtook the test and during the test my computer was frozen.Believe me, thingshappen.I am not saying this caused my failure this time.I don’t know what elseto do, How to prepare for this test.Then I came to know about this forum andthis changed my life,Belive me it did,because I have passed this time,Yes afterall this failures.

I started early,found a partner here and started questionsMKSAP and BB2 and use BB2 as notes for MKSAP and discussed with partner andcomleted each section x3.
I never failed any standardized tests in the past andfailing Boards was a shock and I gradually isolated myself and paid the price.Believe me.You don't have too.


I know I did not prepared well before as I should. But howto prepare well, talk to others who passed before or study with a partner, andmake this test as priority.Don't silently suffer,that will worsen thesituation.Support from my spouse is enormous.Belive me without that I can'tmake it this time also.


If any thing ,only one thing is important ,Believe inyourself.Believe that you will pass next time,that will give a lot of PositiveEnergy,just imagine you passed next time and half a battle is won.Beleive me.


If I passed after all this, you can too. we are all workedhard to reach this stage.Don't let this test make you weak. If you need seek amedical help.Belive me, we (doctors) are horrible to seek help.

A lot of good people shared their views and experiences andtips about this test, follow whichever method work for you. Secret isperseverance.


If my journey of this test makes at least one person confident and succeed in next year,I will be very glad.I felt Obligated to write my experience,because this forum helped me when I loooked for help and gave me a little encouragement.Pay backtime.



Good Luck.

Thank you for your post. While you studied for the test after losing your job, did you find another job???? Was it hard finding another job??
 
Congratulations for that passed boards this year and goodluck for next year who did not passed this year.

You will pass next year. Believe me. If you respect the test and honest to yourselfand start a schedule and stick to it.
Of course, Boards are getting harder, I was told when I wasin residency, it was an easy exam and need few weeks of study was sufficient.But it was not true. Believe me.


You will get jobs without Board certification, Beleive me(of course Not your preferred ones).


This forum helped me a lot a year ago and I want to share mystory with you, who are in despair now.Beleive me, I was there.
This was my story.

I started my Job immediately after residency and illprepared for a week and not taken test seriously and failed, felt pain myselfas I thought everyone else was passed the exam except me. I felt isolated andstudied myself with night calls in between and failed again. Lost my Job andfound another one and this time made a schedule and attended Board reviewcourse and did some of MKSAP questions and read Medstudy,No luck, definitelyfelt I should have passed this time. So I requested board to reevaluate the score, got a letterback the score was evaluated correct first time, waste of money, don’t wasteyour money.Belive me Not worth it.
So this time I want to take it serious and made a scheduleand stressed myself to study hard and do all questions, but not able tocomplete all the info and questions I want to complete it.Procrastination andtrying to complete the material before starting questions were my mistakes andtook the test and during the test my computer was frozen.Believe me, thingshappen.I am not saying this caused my failure this time.I don’t know what elseto do, How to prepare for this test.Then I came to know about this forum andthis changed my life,Belive me it did,because I have passed this time,Yes afterall this failures.

I started early,found a partner here and started questionsMKSAP and BB2 and use BB2 as notes for MKSAP and discussed with partner andcomleted each section x3.
I never failed any standardized tests in the past andfailing Boards was a shock and I gradually isolated myself and paid the price.Believe me.You don't have too.


I know I did not prepared well before as I should. But howto prepare well, talk to others who passed before or study with a partner, andmake this test as priority.Don't silently suffer,that will worsen thesituation.Support from my spouse is enormous.Belive me without that I can'tmake it this time also.


If any thing ,only one thing is important ,Believe inyourself.Believe that you will pass next time,that will give a lot of PositiveEnergy,just imagine you passed next time and half a battle is won.Beleive me.


If I passed after all this, you can too. we are all workedhard to reach this stage.Don't let this test make you weak. If you need seek amedical help.Belive me, we (doctors) are horrible to seek help.

A lot of good people shared their views and experiences andtips about this test, follow whichever method work for you. Secret isperseverance.


If my journey of this test makes at least one person confident and succeed in next year,I will be very glad.I felt Obligated to write my experience,because this forum helped me when I loooked for help and gave me a little encouragement.Pay backtime.



Good Luck.

Awesome. I feel the same way. This forum helped me. I was feeling so bad and then I saw the people on this forum sharing stories, giving each other advice. Someone shared that he/she had failed 5 times. When I saw that it made me think if that person was courageous enough to get up off the ground, I should be too. I decided to stop feeling humiliated and come up with a different plan. When I saw mention of BB2, that got me excited too.

I think what you say about that secret studying is so try...the hiding, isolation...it sucks. So even if someone decides to hide from the public regarding boards, having a study partner will give him/her one supportive person he/she can feel free to let it out that he/she had failed. When I was looking for a study partner, I specifically wanted someone who had failed before so I would not feel insecure. I wanted to be myself, not feel ashamed, etc. in front of at least one person. Once I started properly preparing, I actually enjoyed looking at my score reports and imagining how much better prepared I would be this time. LOL

I really enjoyed having someone I could talk freely to about having failed and know that the person was not thinking less of me. It took the shame out of having failed. We both knew we weren't losers. We laughed at mistakes we made in preparing that we did not intend to make again.

Because this board helped me...that's why I keep popping back to contribute. Each person has a different reason and they must be honest in figuring it out. For me, honestly I had never done all the MKSAP questions. I kept putting them off and "saving" them. First, I didn't want to feel bad missing them before mastering a topic and secondly i was saying i was saving them so they would be useful later. All BS...I was never ready and never got to them. I also had purchased too many things and spread myself thin.

Good luck to all.
 
Thank you for your post. While you studied for the test after losing your job, did you find another job???? Was it hard finding another job??
I did find another job within few weeks.If your primary goal is to find a job and keep your options open ,you can do it too.
 
Anyone used UW?
I am planning to use UW instead of Mksap for next year ABIM. do you think that is sufficient?
 
I took the exam today, studied very hard this time but still freaking after the exam. I felt this time is more difficult than the exam I took last year.
Just wait for the result.
can you send those banks of question you got i am preparing for the first time tooo
 
Anyone used UW?
I am planning to use UW instead of Mksap for next year ABIM. do you think that is sufficient?

I did all the UW questions, twice, about two weeks prior to the exam and thought that the questions were not that useful or high-yield. They tested more obscure topics and most respondents seemed to score between 50-60% correct (I averaged 45 to 50% the first time then 65% the second time). The look and feel of the qbank was spot-on though.

As many prior posts point out, I think the MKSAP questions, Awesome Review notes, and Boards Basics text offer a more sufficient and higher-yield review.
 
Hi! Im looking for some advise from someone that is in the same position as my Husband right now, Im terrible sorry about your test, I know how frustrating it is, He just found on Friday that didnt pass for the 4th time. Im trying to help Him pass it and Encourage Him, but right now I dont have a Clue what else He can do. He tried everything, from review courses, all books available, tutors, well you can imagine, now We are in a stressful situation, because at Work they told Him they re not going to continue with the contract, Im really desperate. He works as a Hospitalist and is always really busy long hours. Please I really appreciate If You can give me any Advise about some other Guide or materials or Review Courses We can look for, Thank You, and Dont Give Up no matter How Steep is the way, at the end It will be more Rewarding!! PS: Please Excuse my poor gramatic, Im doing my best.
 
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@CRDOC76- As far as the test goes only he will know how much more he needs to do to get it done. It may just be a matter of time. Is work too demanding- to the point he has no energy to study after work? If so maybe taking a clinic job for a year-even at a paycut. I have failed twice so the best I can do is say I'm sorry and completely know how he feels. Just know please that the test is not a reflection of how good a doctor he is/isn't. It's a game to master. Have him join here and read- it has helped me tons. My wife is great but somehow it is different to share with others who have not passed- before joining I felt like I was the only one around. I felt isolated. Even writing this is cathartic. Hoping a pass for both of you!
 
Hi! Im looking for some advise from someone that is in the same position as my Husband right now, Im terrible sorry about your test, I know how frustrating it is, He just found on Friday that didnt pass for the 4th time. Im trying to help Him pass it and Encourage Him, but right now I dont have a Clue what else He can do. He tried everything, from review courses, all books available, tutors, well you can imagine, now We are in a stressful situation, because at Work they told Him they re not going to continue with the contract, Im really desperate. He works as a Hospitalist and is always really busy long hours. Please I really appreciate If You can give me any Advise about some other Guide or materials or Review Courses We can look for, Thank You, and Dont Give Up no matter How Steep is the way, at the end It will be more Rewarding!! PS: Please Excuse my poor gramatic, Im doing my best.

Before we could even give advice as to what to try differently, we would need to know what he has tried. Don't give up...but don't do the exact same thing. If I had to mention the most important things in my opinion it would be:
1. MKSAP Questions -Do all ---reading the answers. Grab the "skills" from each question. Read them the same way you will read them on the exam...question then answers (then quickly tell yourself what skill they are testing) then passage
2. Study Partner with Skype (preferably only one) -Don't study in secret. A good partner can keep it fun and keep you honest with yourself.
3. Some video review (MedStudy, Pass Machine, or some other video review)
4. Board Basic 2 (or 3 coming up) -Awesome book. The concepts of many questions could be found right in this book!!!
5. A solid schedule-Start early (Feb at latest) -Don't listen to the ones saying to start late. That's good for them that it worked but it's not prudent. Leave time before the exam for going over things AGAIN. I would do 2 weeks per topic (maybe 3 for cards) then 2 days per topic (for second review).

Those are my 5 key things I would recommend. Others have recommended things like Awesome Review (I have no experience with this) and MedStudy Core (wasn't my favorite but others-most- swear by it)-I used it for some sections just as a reference.

The truth is each person has what works for him/her...these are just suggestions from one perspective.
 
@CRDOC76- As far as the test goes only he will know how much more he needs to do to get it done. It may just be a matter of time. Is work too demanding- to the point he has no energy to study after work? If so maybe taking a clinic job for a year-even at a paycut. I have failed twice so the best I can do is say I'm sorry and completely know how he feels. Just know please that the test is not a reflection of how good a doctor he is/isn't. It's a game to master. Have him join here and read- it has helped me tons. My wife is great but somehow it is different to share with others who have not passed- before joining I felt like I was the only one around. I felt isolated. Even writing this is cathartic. Hoping a pass for both of you!


Hospitalistdad. You are going to get them this time. I'm rooting for all of you. Honestly, you guys are making it sound fun. Go get 'em. They don't scare me any more. Even when I took it, I felt great through 3 books...then there was that scary 4th session (well only half confident). When it came back I was really hopeful but I was nervous just because of the past. Now i've been checking the main because I'm excited to see my score report. It will happen to you too! Just keep in mind that skills tip I mentioned. You will see on the exam, that's all it is...applying those skills.

I know you are going to get them this time...just the partner thing will put you over the top.
 
This is my experience, you can check my previous posts and read them also.

- All USMLE 90+, first attemtp. CS passed first attempt.

- ITE: PGY I 66 percentile, PGY II 45 percentile, PGY III 55 percentile 9 (did not
remember exactly).

- 2011 ABIM: finished exam early with happy feeling and FAILED.

- I got 320 for 2011 BIM, the lowest score in this forum, 68% correct (some people got same percent correct but higher score than mine, meaning that questions are scaled differently).

- Had OCD after the result, checked ABIM website again and again to hope that they made a mistake and the result would change from "fail" to "pass".

- Had minor depression almost the whole year and cancelled many plans (travel, house buy, locumtenens work, taking axtra shift...).

- Total loss for failure of ABIM: 70k+ plus mental issues, respect and reputation.

What I did to pass this year:

1. Had a plan to retake 2012 ABIM immediately after the result, that's why I have this ID in this forum.

2. Got motivation and worked as planned:

- Changed to nocturnist shifts so I could study during my calls, I did not sleep during night shifts, average 5-10 admisisons/night but I was able to study at least 3h hours/duty night + 8-12 hours during off-days.
- MKSAP 15 book x1
- Medstudy book x 1
- MKSAP 15 qbank x 2
- Medstudy qbank x 2
- Key Points in MKSAP 15 book x 10
- BB2x 5
- Awesome review x 6 (during the last month only)
- Wrote notes to Awesome review books and when I read Awesome review I also read my notes.
- Bought Kindle, copy Key Points in MKSAP 15 CD to Kindle and listened during driving x 6 months (text to speak).
- Took 1 month off (I informed my manager and medical director 3 months before but they stilI put me on the schedule because they could not find any coverage, I had to find coverage for myself, called any single person in the group to ask them share my shifts).
- Last month: did Awesome review only and bought 1 month IM kaplan qbank and used it as simulation exam, got 65%, felt no confidence but decided to go for the exam. I found out that Awesome reviews took lots of questions from Kaplan qbank. I think Kaplan qbank is very good for ABIM exam, better than MKSAP.
- Some high yield topics: I read more than 20 times including HIV, screening, ACS, COPD, Asthma, dementia... I copied lots of tables and sticked them to the wall in front of my work desk and read them many times.
- Took exam on the first day 08/06/2012 because if I took it late, I would have more anxiety.
- Felt very terrible after the exam, even worse than last year but PASSED.

To anyone who failed:

- Accept the result although it is difficult.
- Have a plan for study ASAP.
- Stick to the plan.
- You have to sacrifice some thing like time with family, money..
- Take notes and during the last month read them again and again.
- Have a study partner if possible.
- Take at least 1 month off before the exam.
- I would recommend read notes, book first, then use Kaplan qbank as simulation exam (random, timed).
 
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I do want to say that if you are looking for something different as a supplement, I really enjoyed "The Pass Machine" videos. Their questions sucked so I didn't wast my time with them but their videos were great and made me feel like I had a great foundation to tackle the MKSAP questions. It just might be the thing to motivate you and get your confidence back. If you fail, they give you your money back plus $500. Not a bad deal considering the costs of failing.

So I liked their videos but I was afraid to endorse because it is too much pressure being responsible ...ha ha.

Edit: I want to clarify that the questions that the lecturers made were pretty good and helpful...when I said their questions sucked I mean their practice exams.
 
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I finally got up the guts to check the ABIM website, and found that I had miraculously PASSED!! I don't know what to say about how I studied, but I did take this much more seriously than last time and basically devoted months to the study effort. I think what helped the most was reviewing all the wrong answers on MKSAP 15 questions, and making notes of what I didn't know from there. But at the end of the day, I doubt I will have done THAT much differently this time around (I was the one who scored 70% -144/250 last time) but I guess it was that one or two percentage point difference that I needed. I was pretty not confident walking out of the exam this time (as opposed to last time, when I had a good feeling and was pretty shocked when I failed), and had a hard time on exam day, but apparently it was enough to get a PASS, which is all I really needed.

Good luck everyone. This has been a very humbling experience. Hopefully I am a better physician for it. I certainly know a lot more about IM than I knew a year ago, and no longer take academic success for granted, as I've been able to do in the past.
 
Hi everyone,
After failing the exam, when did everyone start studying again. I'm still soooo disappointed that I can't get myself to start studying right now. I start my new job nov 1st..week on/week off schedule. I'm off right now and feel like I'm wasting time. I'm curious to know when everyone else started studying again?
Thanks in advance.
 
I finally got up the guts to check the ABIM website, and found that I had miraculously PASSED!!

LOL As confident as I'm sounding now, (because of my past failures) it took me 3 hours to check. That seemed like an eternity so I can only imagine one week! Now I keep checking the mail for my score report. Who would have thought I would be excited to receive mail from ABIM?

Congrats!
 
Hi everyone,
After failing the exam, when did everyone start studying again. I'm still soooo disappointed that I can't get myself to start studying right now. I start my new job nov 1st..week on/week off schedule. I'm off right now and feel like I'm wasting time. I'm curious to know when everyone else started studying again?
Thanks in advance.

I would think January should be fine but each person is different. Good luck. This thread should be helpful for support. Don't feel ashamed. You'll regroup and get 'em next time.
 
Help!! I am in a serious funk, Failed abim now twice. I had no business taking last year but i hunkered down and did mksap 3 times, taking notes, did all the questions. went through BB2 umpteen times, adding notes all the while. Took a month off work. I feel so deflated
 
Moreover, my exam, like many others it seems, had at least 7 to 10 ONE LINE questions in each section. You either knew it or you didn't and no amount of time was going to help. No vignette to draw clues from. No labs to analyze. Just a one sentence question and those multiple choice answers. Yeesh.

Yes. I noticed these short questions...either from 1-3 sentences. I love those. Why? Because I feel most questions really rely on you picking up certain details anyway and most of the question is BS. In these they cut to the chase. I love the fact that you can answer them quickly then bank the extra time (from the 2 min) to use on some of the longer questions. It made it much easier to be comfortable keeping pace. This was new. I had taken it twice before (spaced apart...last was 2010).

I'm all for the short ones! Plus...who wants to get tired reading all those vignettes? LOL
 
Help!! I am in a serious funk, Failed abim now twice. I had no business taking last year but i hunkered down and did mksap 3 times, taking notes, did all the questions. went through BB2 umpteen times, adding notes all the while. Took a month off work. I feel so deflated

Sorry to hear that. As a veteran fail x 2 I can fully understand how you feel. This is a good board. I really did feel ashamed and had no confidence until I came to this board. You will get it next time.

I would say Keys are:
1. Partner -use Skype (free) -partner can keep it fun
2. Some video review (I liked Pass Machine-I'm sure MedStudy is great too)
3. BB2-like you said but with a partner I think you will get more out of it if you are discussing things
4. MKSAP questions-but make sure when you do them you are developing certain skills. Read the question then answers then passage...for all of them. Then when you get on the exam and do this you will say "Oh...they want me to figure out the cause of this chest pain". "Oh...they want me to determine where the person is on the Asthma step up protocol" etc. When you do them read ALL answer explanations and imagine how the question would have to change to make each be the right answer. Discuss this with your partner and make sure both of you understand and agree. Look up anything that either of you is unsure about and share links. So it is not just the question...not just the answer...not even just the skill but the questions make a leap point to have full discussions on topics. If you remember conversations well like I do, you will enjoy this. I found many of the questions came from our conversations on topics from the questions. I STILL remember some of our conversations...I especially love the ones where we disagreed and had to look things up further. I remember disagreements!

As far as that feeling of being ashamed to the general population and doctors, that doesn't fully go away until you see the pass...then you feel happy...and even feel more comfortable discussing that at one time you hadn't passed. You don't feel embarrassed anymore. That's with the general public! As far as having a group to support you where you don't feel ashamed, this board is great. You can totally drop the feeling sorry for yourself because we already know you are smart, probably a great doctor an we know this is just a game. So you can make yourself feel better by understanding that you are not alone, you shouldn't feel ashamed, you will beat it next time (with a different plan and a partner). Take a moment and smile. It won't beat you. I wouldn't recommend trying to explain to all those outsiders though...once you pass you can do that. But we here understand. So to be clear...my feelings of feeling ashamed DID go away and I was happy but that was because i chose to make my study partner and the people of this board support. It was great. I needed that. Thanks everyone.
 
Thank you for the response. It is very much appreciated!

Sure. Try to get excited about studying and try t make it fun. With the right partner, the right videos and the right attitude, you can beat this test. Just think about how much your last year studying will have prepared you to start this time. You have helped yourself out. You will for psychological reasons need to come up with a few things you are doing differently to keep yourself calm and confident.

For me I was saying:
-Now I have a study partner and I'm having fun so doing much more
-Now I'm starting early. I'm not waiting 'till the last second then panicking
-Now I'm using the fun Pass Machine videos for a foundation
-Now I'm using BB2 which I never really knew about...one of the problems of isolating yourself. Duh...
-Now I'm doing 100% of the MKSAP questions and going through all the answers in a non rushed way.
-Now I have a schedule which allows me to go over the topics again
-Now I will always read the question and answers first instead of starting with the passage like an idiot. (ha ha)

So these were real changes and I was able to convince myself they would be enough to make a difference...and they were. You will need to come up with a plan that involves several changes if you are going to develop that confidence...and you need that confidence if you are going to study effectively.

You'll do it this time. You will. And next year at this time you will be smiling waiting for your score report!
 
I agree...but I only loved the short questions that I felt confident that I knew the answer to. There were a few short ones that had me guessing blindly since I simply had no idea. :)
 
Yes. I noticed these short questions...either from 1-3 sentences. I love those. Why? Because I feel most questions really rely on you picking up certain details anyway and most of the question is BS. In these they cut to the chase. I love the fact that you can answer them quickly then bank the extra time (from the 2 min) to use on some of the longer questions. It made it much easier to be comfortable keeping pace. This was new. I had taken it twice before (spaced apart...last was 2010).

I'm all for the short ones! Plus...who wants to get tired reading all those vignettes? LOL
I agree...but I only loved the short questions that I felt confident that I knew the answer to. There were a few short ones that had me guessing blindly since I simply had no idea. :)
 
Sure. Try to get excited about studying and try t make it fun. With the right partner, the right videos and the right attitude, you can beat this test. Just think about how much your last year studying will have prepared you to start this time. You have helped yourself out. You will for psychological reasons need to come up with a few things you are doing differently to keep yourself calm and confident.

For me I was saying:
-Now I have a study partner and I'm having fun so doing much more
-Now I'm starting early. I'm not waiting 'till the last second then panicking
-Now I'm using the fun Pass Machine videos for a foundation
-Now I'm using BB2 which I never really knew about...one of the problems of isolating yourself. Duh...
-Now I'm doing 100% of the MKSAP questions and going through all the answers in a non rushed way.
-Now I have a schedule which allows me to go over the topics again
-Now I will always read the question and answers first instead of starting with the passage like an idiot. (ha ha)

So these were real changes and I was able to convince myself they would be enough to make a difference...and they were. You will need to come up with a plan that involves several changes if you are going to develop that confidence...and you need that confidence if you are going to study effectively.

You'll do it this time. You will. And next year at this time you will be smiling waiting for your score report!

What do you recommend if I already used the above techniques, including having a study partner? I have to admit I didn't use BB2...which I will use this time around. But I honestly did everything else you said.
 
What do you recommend if I already used the above techniques, including having a study partner? I have to admit I didn't use BB2...which I will use this time around. But I honestly did everything else you said.

Did your partner pass? Did you put in the same time as your partner?

In the above, I used Pass Machine. have you tried that as a change of pace? maybe you need something different. I really enjoyed their lectures. Their practice quizzes suck but you have plenty of MKSAP questions. Their questions from the lecturers are good.

So if you tried all the above i would recommend:
1. A new Study partner that keeps things fun
2. A schedule that allows you to go over the topics twice. Long review then quick refresher
3. Pass Machine if you haven't tried it (The Home Study so you can take your time and keep reviewing).
4. BB2 for sure. You'll love that book. Just knowing you didn't use it should be enough to get you excited. When you order it, they also give you the PDF online version.
5. Make sure to use that strategy of extracting skill sets when you do the MKSAP questions. This is not just reading the objective...but you yourself deciding what they are asking.

Certainly, a popular strategy is to use MedStudy and the MedStudy videos. Many swear by this (or used to). If that works for you great. I'm sure all the info is in medStudy since almost everything is yellow these days "Know Cold", "Know Perfectly". I just decided to go a different way because i wanted a change. Initially i thought I would also read the MedStudy Core...but I had no time. We used it as a reference sometimes. I have a lot of respect for them. It just wasn't for me. I will tell you i was laughing at lunch at all the stuff MedStudy said we needed to know cold that was not on there thus far (and still never made it on after lunch). So i would have clogged my brain with a lot of stuff.
 
I have a question for all of you who took the boards. Maybe this will help the next guys/ladies.

DID MEDSTUDY HELP?

MedStudy has been thriving for a long time on its reputation back when people chose it because it was shorter to read than MKSAP. Maybe it was awesome back then and the ABIM decided to shake things up. IDK. maybe it is still good now. I didn't use it this last time (other than for reference).

So...tell us. Does MedStudy really help or is it just coasting on a legendary reputation?
 
This is ridiculous. First year used MKSAP and was off by 20 points, knew I probably failedafter I walked out of that exam it was so horrible. So this year took time off from work, spent 1200 bucks on frontrunners course, and did med study Q bank as well....walked out the test sure I passed....and I FAILED...AGAIN!! I don't know what else to do? I am getting Married next Aug 3rd, I want to enjoy my wedding and will have **** to do, inc work so I am not sure if I should take it again next year or move my wedding if possible, but I don't think I can work as a Hospitalist for ore than 3 years being board eligible. I don't know what to do, I am so frustrated....and I work where I did my residency so this is even more humiliating. I'm worried they are going to fire me because of this. I am going to wait for my score report and compare it to last year, I can't imagine doing worse since I put so much more time in this time around. I did not use MKSAP because I didn't feel like any of the questions were helpful on my first exam. Anyways, if I do take it next year I will probably take a review course (I have heard Awesome review is good), it seems like everyone who passed did MKSAP 10 times and UW, even though the questions were hard. And I didn't know about the BB. I actually thought the medstudy bank was right on compared to the test questions, much more so than MKSAP, but clearly I was wrong otherwise I would have passed. What frustrates me is I know people who used my study materials and put in a lot less time and passed!! Anyways, I live in the LA area and am looking for a study partner, I think having a dedicated schedule is key and I definitely need that to keep me on track and motivated. But I am looking for someone serious...I can't afford to fail this for a third time. If anyone has any other suggestions I am more than open, especially if you have been in my situation and been successful. Thanks

Do not give up.
Accept the fact. Wait for the result and start from your weak areas.

I got very low score last year, might ne the lowest among people who failed in this forum (320), but PASSED THIS YEAR.

I asked some people who failed, and realized that most of us got very low scores for general medicine, oncology, and neurology.

My last year exam:
- General medicine: 49% (lowest percent) this field has highest number of questions
- Oncology 59%
- Nephrology: 61%


Highest is Endocrinology 94%
Other subjects: 65-80%

I

After I got the score report, I planned to study and started from general medicine. Please remember that general medicine here include Screening, Opthalmology, dermatology, Ethical issues, Psychiatry, Preventive medicine, general issues, women health, sport medicine..

My plan was:
- Raising correct percentage of general medicine to 70% (meaning that I need 12 more correct answers for this field, and get axtra 12/205=4.8% total score)
- Raising Oncology from 59% to 70%: need 3 more correct answers and get extra 1.4% total score.
- Rasing Nephrology from 61% to 70%: need 2 more correct answers and get extra 0.9% total score.
- Try to keep the same score for other subjects or get 1 more correct answers for each subject.

I got 68% for last year, with this plan, I would get at least 68 + 4.8 +1.4 + 0.9 = 75.1%.

I concentrated to general medicine this year and succeeded.

Anybody has different plan, so you should, depending on your scpre report.

BUT NEVER GIVE UP.
 
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Do not give up.
Accept the fact. Wait for the result and start from your weak areas.

I got very low score last year, might ne the lowest among people who failed in this forum (320), but PASSED THIS YEAR.

I asked some people who failed, and realized that most of us got very low scores for general medicine, oncology, and neurology.

My last year exam:
- General medicine: 49% (lowest percent) this field has highest number of questions
- Oncology 59%
- Neurology 61%

Highest is Endocrinology 94%
Other subjects: 65-80%

I

After I got the score report, I planned to study and started from general medicine. Please remember that general medicine here include Screening, Opthalmology, dermatology, Ethical issues, Psychiatry, Preventive medicine, general issues, women health, sport medicine..

My plan was:
- Raising correct percentage of general medicine to 70% (meaning that I need 12 more correct answers for this field, and get axtra 12/205=4.8% total score)
- Raising Oncology from 59% to 70%: need 3 more correct answers and get extra 1.4% total score.
- Rasing Neurology from 61% to 70%: need 2 more correct answers and get extra 0.9% total score.
- Try to keep the same score for other subjects or get 1 more correct answers for each subject.

I got 68% for last year, with this plan, I would get at least 68 + 4.8 +1.4 + 0.9 = 75.1%.

I concentrate to general medicine this year and succeeded.

Anybody has different plan, so you should, depending on your scpre report.

BUT NEVER GIVE UP.

Congrats on your success with passing! I was very impressed by your tenacity and focus with your studies and your story and strategy will continue to help many.

I was wondering how your in-service training exam score breakdown matched up with your actual ABIM exam breakdown. Lots of residents in my program (where I was Chief and am now an attending) are worried that low ITE scores predict a low/fail score on the ABIM exam.

My first two years I was at 18% percentile (PGY-1: 47% correct, 18% percentile; PGY-2: 54% correct, 18% percentile) and last year as a PGY-3, I improved to 64% correct, 32% percentile.

In prepping for the board exam, I used the ITE breakdown and focused mostly on the subjects where I was extremely deficient/weak (<10%) and buffing up the content that had the most questions (Gen med, cardio, pulm, GI). When the ABIM score report comes out, I'll be very interested to see how things match up.

Again, kudos and congrats on your recent triumph over this exam and thanks for your continued contributions to this awesome forum of support.
 
I have a question for all of you who took the boards. Maybe this will help the next guys/ladies.

DID MEDSTUDY HELP?

MedStudy has been thriving for a long time on its reputation back when people chose it because it was shorter to read than MKSAP. Maybe it was awesome back then and the ABIM decided to shake things up. IDK. maybe it is still good now. I didn't use it this last time (other than for reference).

So...tell us. Does MedStudy really help or is it just coasting on a legendary reputation?

In my opinion, I think the MedStudy books helped me immensely.

I found it much easier to stay engaged with the material since the books are formatted with lots of "Quick Quiz" sections that help one ensure that the concepts are captured and understood.

Plus, they already emphasize the facts that are 'must-know' in yellow highlighter and red-colored text so it was easy to get through a session of active studying (i.e. reading and asking myself questions about what I just read so I wouldn't forget it soon after, then reviewing the highlights at intermittent intervals/spaced repetition for content mastery.)

In contrast, the MKSAP texts are a phenomenal tome of material, however, I had trouble staying focused and felt like highlighting entire chapters as every sentence seemed 'high-yield' to me. (Don't get me wrong, the MKSAP is a great resource and the questions offer excellent practice...but the actual textbook reading part was somewhat painful for me.)

All in all, I think the MedStudy books are a solid resource and a great place to start for those who are daunted by large amounts of text/material.
 
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