ABEM scam

[AlmostAnMD]

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Your answers are somewhere on a yacht imo

 

[TysonCook]

Once again, ABEM is a scam.

 

[NYEMMED]

Is it actually reasonable on a professional level to practice ER after your BC expires? In truth?

What would happen if you went to court and plantiff discovered you are not board certified? I would love to have my board certification expire and not pay these stupid fees, but I doubt the hospital would continue to let me work?!?

Most likely your hospital will not allow it. Most hospitals have in their bylaws that you must be board certified or board eligible and most hospitals also only accept certain boards and most do not accept ABPS

 

[ShockIndex]

I sent this message to ABEM:

Dear Sir or Madam:

I'm a diplomat (XXXXXX) with both EM and ACCM certifications. For the past year I've noticed several errors with the content of my ABEM portal dashboards. Most recently, my ACCM Certification portal lists "activities due." However, clicking on the "complete activities" icon takes me to a mirror webpage for my EM Certification where all activities are listed as complete. There have been other errors over the past several months that make it very difficult to keep track of what MOC activities are needed to maintain my certifications.

Moreover, I've tried contacting the ABEM corporate offices over the past 2 weeks and sent multiple phone and web messages through the website contact portal. I've not been able to get anyone at the corporate office to answer the phone, return phone messages, or respond to portal questions over the past 2 weeks. In your reply to this message, please provide a contact for the ABEM members at-large, Drs. Feldhaus and White.

Sincerely,

Werner Heisnberg
889-666-6666

It will be interesting to see if/when they respond...

 

[southerndoc]

@ShockIndex -- did you mean to dox yourself?

I sent an email with problems. Basically they told me I had satisfied my EM cert and only had 2 activities left with EMS. That's not what their page says.

 

[RustedFox]

@ShockIndex -- did you mean to dox yourself?

I sent an email with problems. Basically they told me I had satisfied my EM cert and only had 2 activities left with EMS. That's not what their page says.

You don't recognize the name?

 

[southerndoc]

You don't recognize the name?

 

[ShockIndex]

@ShockIndex -- did you mean to dox yourself?

I sent an email with problems. Basically they told me I had satisfied my EM cert and only had 2 activities left with EMS. That's not what their page says.

Still no response. I tried calling 3 times today and, per protocol, nobody answered at any of the extensions that I dialed or returned my messages. My ACCM portal that tracks my MOC compliance has been unavailable for months. I can’t say that I can remember witnessing this degree of neglect from a legit business or professional organization. At this point, I recommend that EM diplomats take screen shots of their portal, any completed MOC activities, and send emails to ABEM to document discrepancies. I fear that it’s a matter of time before certifications inadvertently lapse due to confusion created by portal errors.

I’m actually a counselor on AAEM’s Critical Care Section. It’s probably time to reach out to the section’s officers to see if others are having issues. If it is as I expect, perhaps ABEM will respond to AAEM’s leadership.

I had run on a platform of developing employment opportunities for EM-trained intensivists. Little did I know that I’d spend an inordinate amount of time making sure that our major professional certifying organization is capable of performing its most rudimentary duties.

 

[DocEspana]

OOF. Just had an experience and now understand why everyone is so grumpy.

Every december I do some nonsense towards my ABEM certification. So over the last few years I've done all of the LLSA's and jumped through the random hoops for good citizenship and some improvement project that they ask of us. I have a due date on everything of 12/31/2028 and had the 4 EMCert classes to do, so one per year. Easy squeezy.

I know with some of these changes at some point ABEM they told me that they are basically changing how I do it midway through my cycle so I got like $200ish credit to my account. I go to do my first EMCert and it asks me if I'd like to pay $30 for CME. I don't need the CME at all, but I've gotten it on the LLSAs before because I have this credit I have to use on something since the LLSAs are free, what else could I even use it on? I say yeah, I'd like that CME. It says $30 due, $160 existing credit (what I had left), $0 due, $130 credit after payment... click here to pay.

I click. Error message. I reset the screen and click again. error message and I notice the red little asterisk by the payment. It wants a credit card. I laugh that this is likely some hard-wired thing and it needs a CC even though I'm using exclusively credits. So I click pay now. New screen says $270 charged to your credit card.

what... what??

Oh the EMCert, that was previously not listed ANYWHERE on the screen and by every appearance was the same charge as the CME is $400 fuggin dollars. But now that I'm on the "we have your money now" screen, I see a whole new line for the EMCert and it now clearly has new lines of $30 due, $400 due, $160 existing credit, $270 due. TRANSACTION SUCCESSFUL.

I am so pissed. How do you design a system that not only doesnt tell you the cost of the program until after you pay for it, but goes ahead and just sneaks that charge in on a screen that fully looks like its just going to be $30. Also.... why the **** does a 50-question test where the answer is "use positive pressure ventilations on the floppy neonate" for 10 of the 50 questions cost $400?

 

[RustedFox]

I just took one of these silly modules. Didn't wanna pay for the CME. Failed the module (resuscitation) by one question because of some asinine ethics consideration where all the answers were basically the same.

What now? Can I re-take it until I pass or what? Need to pick a new module?

 

[JacobMcCandles]

I just took one of these silly modules. Didn't wanna pay for the CME. Failed the module (resuscitation) by one question because of some asinine ethics consideration where all the answers were basically the same.

What now? Can I re-take it until I pass or what? Need to pick a new module?

I think you have like 3 chances to take it until you pass but it's been about 4 years since I did one.

 

[RustedFox]

I think you have like 3 chances to take it until you pass but it's been about 4 years since I did one.

Appreciated.

There's seriously NO data on the website about any of this. How many attempts you have, what exactly I need to even do (used to be different before the new webpage redesign). Nobody answers at ABEM either. Anyone already do this ?

 

[southerndoc]

It has significant room for improvement. Completed modules should be shown. It's been a while since I logged in, but EM doesn't even show up for me anymore (only EMS as I have 2 more modules to complete). When I emailed them, they told me my EM requirement was already met. I question that, but saved the email in case something happens.

 

[DocEspana]

I just took one of these silly modules. Didn't wanna pay for the CME. Failed the module (resuscitation) by one question because of some asinine ethics consideration where all the answers were basically the same.

What now? Can I re-take it until I pass or what? Need to pick a new module?

yeah you can retake it but you need to basically fully back out of every page they put you in (otherwise you end up in a seemingly endless loop of them showing you your most recent score was deemed a fail). I would just say fully log out and log back in. Then it will look like you never took the test before and it will give you 50 (mostly) different questions.

I will say that its sort of clear that they have >>50 questions but <50 ideas they are testing, so the second time around its just funny variations of the same idea they already asked you about 2-3 times in the last batch of 50 questions.

 

[Janders]

yeah you can retake it but you need to basically fully back out of every page they put you in (otherwise you end up in a seemingly endless loop of them showing you your most recent score was deemed a fail). I would just say fully log out and log back in. Then it will look like you never took the test before and it will give you 50 (mostly) different questions.

I will say that its sort of clear that they have >>50 questions but <50 ideas they are testing, so the second time around its just funny variations of the same idea they already asked you about 2-3 times in the last batch of 50 questions.

I swear one time they asked me about the HEART score 12x

 

[EctopicFetus]

Random thought.. when i did this the last time.. chatgpt wasnt a thing.. but it was open notes all resources were ok.. can we use chatgpt now to work through these? Ill be honest the tests were not that hard but im curious.

 

[Janders]

Random thought.. when i did this the last time.. chatgpt wasnt a thing.. but it was open notes all resources were ok.. can we use chatgpt now to work through these? Ill be honest the tests were not that hard but im curious.

One might tell you that just pasting the prompt and answers into google and getting the google AI response gets you a correct answer 3/4 of the time and no answer the rest (just search results)

 

[RustedFox]

Random thought.. when i did this the last time.. chatgpt wasnt a thing.. but it was open notes all resources were ok.. can we use chatgpt now to work through these? Ill be honest the tests were not that hard but im curious.

They state specifically that AI isn't allowed in the disclaimer/honor code .

 

[DocEspana]

Random thought.. when i did this the last time.. chatgpt wasnt a thing.. but it was open notes all resources were ok.. can we use chatgpt now to work through these? Ill be honest the tests were not that hard but im curious.

One might tell you that just pasting the prompt and answers into google and getting the google AI response gets you a correct answer 3/4 of the time and no answer the rest (just search results)

One might be able to confirm to you that pasting the prompt and answers into google ai gets you the correct answer 76% of the time, and then if you exit out of the whole thing and try it again with ChatGPT it gets you the right answer 92% of the time.

They state specifically that AI isn't allowed in the disclaimer/honor code .

of course that one would not be me.

 

[EMdoc235]

The main issue with the modules for me is the images in questions not loading. I took one module this year and one last year and the images never load. I have to basically guess for some of them. I think I got the minimum passing score both times.

 

[Dr Mantis Toboggan]

The main issue with the modules for me is the images in questions not loading. I took one module this year and one last year and the images never load. I have to basically guess for some of them. I think I got the minimum passing score both times.

Maybe I’m just dumb but I swear there used to be a place on the portal to update your state licensures? I got licensed in a new state and cannot find out where to put that in for the life of me.

 

[EMdoc235]

Maybe I’m just dumb but I swear there used to be a place on the portal to update your state licensures? I got licensed in a new state and cannot find out where to put that in for the life of me.

I logged in and I don't see it anywhere either. I guess they don't care anymore.

 

[JacobMcCandles]

Maybe I’m just dumb but I swear there used to be a place on the portal to update your state licensures? I got licensed in a new state and cannot find out where to put that in for the life of me.

I always thought you just attested that you had one and it was in good standing. Maybe even put in your license number but I don’t think I’ve ever uploaded a license.

 

[CajunMedic]

So, on a positive note, I passed my written exam this time around. So now, I have to take this BS simulation exam. Just watching the video spun me into a dimension of pissed off that is only reserved for a couple of frequent flyers I want to exit out the ER doors like the cowboy with his feet on the table in "Casino"

I mean really? I've got to go play the game with the standardized patients like I'm a med student again? Last time I checked, I've been a practicing emergency physician now for 6 years, including residency. August made 30 years I have been providing direct patient care in some way, shape or form, a lot of it in places these admins wouldn't be caught dead. What good idea fairy came up with this crap?

Whew. Hallelujah, Holy $hit, Where's the Tylenol?

 

[DocEspana]

So, on a positive note, I passed my written exam this time around. So now, I have to take this BS simulation exam. Just watching the video spun me into a dimension of pissed off that is only reserved for a couple of frequent flyers I want to exit out the ER doors like the cowboy with his feet on the table in "Casino"

I mean really? I've got to go play the game with the standardized patients like I'm a med student again? Last time I checked, I've been a practicing emergency physician now for 6 years, including residency. August made 30 years I have been providing direct patient care in some way, shape or form, a lot of it in places these admins wouldn't be caught dead. What good idea fairy came up with this crap?

Whew. Hallelujah, Holy $hit, Where's the Tylenol?

IDK but I'd make sure you verbalize that youre rechecking the vitals signs and placing two IVs. Its all a game and that is how you play it - get the stupid easy stuff immediately.

 

[RustedFox]

IDK but I'd make sure you verbalize that youre rechecking the vitals signs and placing two IVs. Its all a game and that is how you play it - get the stupid easy stuff immediately.

It really is THIS.

 

[Powdermonkey]

IDK but I'd make sure you verbalize that youre rechecking the vitals signs and placing two IVs. Its all a game and that is how you play it - get the stupid easy stuff immediately.

Don't forget the aspirin on the chest pain case. Damhik 🙄😒

 

[DocEspana]

Don't forget the aspirin on the chest pain case. Damhik 🙄😒

I don't know if this is still relevant, but when I took the test like 8 years ago I went to the boot camp offered by one of the organizations, I don't know if it was aaem or acep or whatever, in Chicago. One of the things that they totally drilled into my head is that people can fail a patient encounter if they have any sort of Tia or non-specific neuropathy case and they don't give aspirin. Apparently they are crazy about giving aspirin in strokes, even though the recommendations are to give it within 48 hours or something.

The only reason I say Tia and not stroke cases is if it's a stroke case the case is going to end when you get them on thrombolytics or to intervention as that's ultimately the intervention they're looking for, but a Tia case can be one of those ones they toss in as a multi-part case where you need to do at least one thing correct on each patient and all they're looking for is did you give the person aspirin. It's so random what they boil down complex medical diagnoses down to. Aspirin.

 

[Mount Asclepius]

I used the to think the oral boards were just a semi-annoying right of passage. It’s pointless though, outdated and not practical anymore. We don’t need to drill into Emergency Physician’s heads IV, O2, monitor. That’s nurse stuff. Let alone ASA for TIA. That’s inpatient stuff. Bah humbug, since tis the season. Caveat being, the old version was pointless and I don’t know what this new version is like. I’m skeptical though. AI, while I’m not a fanboy of or think it’s as disruptive yet as Groove does, definitely is going to contribute to our role in the practice of medicine. We need to learn how to utilize data and knowledge differently. Medicine unfortunately tends to be a traditional and antiquated field.