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Could you please recommend resources to use for studying for the ABPM Board Certification Exam?
Thanks!
Thanks!
ABPM board exam- study material
- Thread starter Ipronate
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Try reading old Playboy mags and Spider man comics... The Odyssey novel... whatever you want...
...because everyone passes ABPM. It's a joke. It's the alternate board.
...because everyone passes ABPM. It's a joke. It's the alternate board.
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rtff
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The best study guide is to follow the residency curriculum, on which the exam is based.
Some people have found the ACPM Review “Green Book” helpful.
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Thanks for your response! How would you recommend studying for the case section of the exam? Do you think something like bBoard Wizards which offers case scenarios necessary/worth while?
Thanks again
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I am going to take the ABFAS exam next month, but was wondering if folks recommend taking the ABPM exam at the same time just to be safe for job purposes?
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I still believe that the best studying is simply paying attention during residency. So if you've been thoughtful and engaged with patient care, it really shouldn't matter. To the extent that either of these exams require studying, I think there's a good amount of overlap in content area so you're better off doing them close together.
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What job purpose are you taking for? I'm not going to beat up ABPM because I did something very similar ie. secured ABPM because it seemed like a good idea and what not. The simple truth is - had I simply focused on knocking ABFAS out I would have certified with ABFAS sooner and been done with the whole process. Nothing stops you from taking the part 2 CBPS as soon as you can. If you just certify with ABFAS sooner you save yourself (1) Logging time with ABFAS (2) ABPM MOC related costs / yearly tasks etc (3) Emotional investment in the whole process.
We've put this whole thing up on a pedestal. Everybody else in medicine hates their certification organizations and processes. Instead by pitting our 2 organizations against each other we've somehow created loyalty to our organizations.
Sole Badguy
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Then again, if you just certify with ABPM sooner you save yourself (1) Logging time with ABFAS (2) ABFAS related costs / yearly tasks etc (3) Emotional investment in the whole process soooooo
@Aresnebula, here's how I see the current boards certification situation. You can only take the ABPM certifying after graduating residency. Therefore, take the ABFAS qualifying exam while you can - I'm sure that your residency gives you money to automatically register for it. Give it your best shot to pass it. Next step afterwards is to review your job offers and see whether you can become certified in ABFAS. If your job doesn't need ABFAS and/or you don't think you can become certified with your anticipated workload, then get ABPM.
This is my opinion, but this situation may be more likely than most people think - the way I see it, saturation/job market for new grads is getting to the point where surgery availability may be running its course and you either need to go rural which is not everybody's cup of tea, or get into an established group who will more than likely exploit that weakness if they know you're still looking to be certified. Or get lucky with hospital employment I guess. Not great options all around - so you do the best thing for you and your current situation, get certified in something, let your skills speak for themselves.
Regardless of what you do, good luck 👍
Nobody's suggesting ABPM as a sub for ABFAS... merely a stop gap (ABPM certs anyone right out of residency... ABFAS is only qual, then cert later).
If you don't pursue ABFAS (regardless of whether or not you get ABPM), you will severely limit your job options and possibly hospitals that will give you surgical privileges.
You could do both for the first few years... ABPM will waste a bit of money, but you will pass, and it's fine to have until ABFAS cert.
It does make it a bit smoother for a few insurances to be "board certified" (most are fine with ABFAS qual, but a few don't understand "board qualified" as MD/DO don't really have this for more than a year or two). I did it for that reason.
For hospitals, they were all fine with ABFAS qual imo. For marketing, dealer's choice... you can advertise ABFAS BQ status now. For jobs, every podiatrist (and that's who hires 95% of places), knows ABFAS is the one that's hard to get and it's what matters.
...Fyi, you will have a bit of trouble getting out of ABPM once you want to cancel it. They make it an absolute hassle and issue threats and do everything they can to keep you in (for continued dues and numbers/stats). I just stopped paying dues as they were not responding to my cancel requests, and it dragged on over a year (that was when the board imploded after impeach attempt and many ABPM office staff and exec director also quit). Terrible experience for me.
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OMG what?? That is crazy! I didn't know that.
I am currently in my third year of residency so the ABFAS exam next month is paid for by the program. I didn't know I had to wait until after residency for ABPM so appreciate the info. I am looking at jobs now and they all want someone board qualified at least so was thinking of ABPM as the temporary qualification while I re-take ABFAS if I fail it.
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Obviously 500(?) something people do this a year, but we can only tell you what we did, and I have no idea what the graduating population as a whole did. I simply did ABFAS foot/rearfoot qual as a 3rd year. You get the results at some point in late 3rd year. Its funny - this isn't something that we get a lot of survey data about or a lot of population based guidance.
I'm sort of skeptical that the historic precedent was for everyone to immediately certify in ABPM just to be sure they had something, but who can say (maybe ABPM can). I will admit that when filling CAQH out the first time that the questions about certification vs qualification did give me some trepidation but ABFAS qualification didn't cause issues.
My town literally shut down during Covid and I wondered would our surgical volume ever recover. It was a very unusual time for predicting the future. ABPM seemed as a reasonable plan at the time - especially because I technically did not need to pursue ABFAS. I rapidly moved to juggling between feelings of gratitude towards ABPM verse grumbling because of the somewhat nuisance of the cost and MOC.
This forum sometimes lays it on a little thick about surgery. Yes, a lot of insurance is deteriorating. That said, I still routinely say yes to people who ask for surgery. We joke on here that every bunion is free, every patient has fibromyalgia, every rehab is a disaster, etc but I've got 2 lapidus and a 1st MP fusion next week and I'm looking forward to it. I didn't technically need to get ABFAS, but I sat looked at my case volume and thought - I've already done the real work which is doing the cases. The logging and the submission is ridiculous, but I'm already over it. There is 1 podiatrist in my town who isn't ABFAS. Every single other podiatrist is is - even the terrible ones.
Again, don't think I'm trashing ABPM. I just want you to have the easiest path forward.
I think doing surgery will become more and more of a necessity for DPMs going forward. It'll be needed for best success and expected as more ppl out practicing become "foot and ankle surgeon" 3 year or 3+1 grads and the new podiatry schools surely expand. MD/DO view on podiatry is changing (slowly), and they'll come to expect more in 20 years than they do now - and sure expect more now than 20yrs ago!
We all know the many job options ABFAS adds. That is common sense. People without it are ruled out at most good jobs. Heck, even some PP jobs and supergroups try to require ABFAS qual and fellowship for their new associate hires now. Lol.
Mainly, PCPs want easy refers. They always have. They want a place to send everything from arthritis to nails to bunion to flat foot to wounds. It'll become exceedingly difficult to get and hold those refers doing limited pod pathologies (non-op or limited surgery) with more and more DPMs out there doing all of that stuff. You want to be able to say "I do all the same stuff and pathologies they do" or even "I do everything they do.. plus other other pathologies and surgery also" when PCPs ask about other area pods. There is really no reason for a PCP to refer to a podiatrist who does only some of the pathologies other nearby ones do or who doesn't do surgery or who's not on at the local hospital. The only possible reason would be that the hospital / full scope pod is a total toolbox.
There is noting wrong with lobster pathology. It'll always be there in huge quantity, but it's stuff RNs and even techs can do. If the hospital and supergroup pods do the surgery + procedures and get PA/NP or just RNs and techs to do the basic derm/nail podiatry, then the area TFP pods will be in very rough shape imo. They will lose nearly all refers to the do-it-all pods' offices. Even if they keep the derm/nail, hammering the same codes endlessly is audit bait.
...Also, unless people are in a metro or decent-sized city, it's a service to the pts to offer care for most/all foot and ankle pathologies. That is probably the main reason I do nearly full scope.
Last, I was doing re-credential today for a hospital, and they ask for my case logs last 2 years (2yr renew cycles). How is someone going to have that if they don't do PLS (for ABPM qual/cert)? I suppose they'd do a manual spreadsheet? What a nightmare. It's best to offer as many services as reasonably possible. A lot of the people who jump to easy route will find a lot of closed doors down the line. Not recommended imo... at least try for everything you trained for.
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Some have said they though Board Wizards helped, but honestly, these are not trick questions. It's the same material and blueprint from the didactic portion, just put into clinical case scenarios. I think the best preparation is to do practice case questions so you understand the format and can move through quickly.
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I’m getting ABPM because I want to make sure I get board certified in something. At my hospital I basically ride the pus bus so not doing a ton of elective cases such as bunions, fusions, etc. I occasionally do offloading surgery when I can get a somewhat compliant patient to agree to it and actually show up for said surgery.
At this rate I may not be able to try for ABFAS cert for a couple of years. Hopefully referrals for this type of stuff picks up as I get more well known in my facility. My patient population usually not good elective surgical candidates though (Native American).
At this rate I may not be able to try for ABFAS cert for a couple of years. Hopefully referrals for this type of stuff picks up as I get more well known in my facility. My patient population usually not good elective surgical candidates though (Native American).
There is plenty.... think of VA job pods who don't even get any/many female pts (so even less HAV, flat foot, etc than you see). Most podiatry elective surgery is women.
It might take awhile, but it will happen. You've only been there a year.
Many first year out DPMs think that "won't get numbers" way (esp when they took months after start to get privileges).
It takes time to get elective going, figure out how to talk to patients, get refers, get comfortable in OR.
Have you made a point to meet most PCPs, ER docs, peds, etc at your facility?
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I could definitely do better at advertising what I can do. The first time I had an ankle fracture, the OR coordinator called the CMO and had to make sure I was allowed to do them lol. It’s mostly because the other podiatrist who has been here for years just doesn’t do most elective or trauma type cases and they were getting sent out.
Also I tend to be on the more conservative side with elective surgery and tell people to consider only if they have exhausted conservative treatment and they are having pain that prevents them from doing things they want to or need to do. Also let them know it’s a big commitment and they need to make sure they have time to be off, good support system, etc.
I have quite a few that are waiting till summer is over to pull the trigger on surgery too.
My facility reimburses for stuff like this anyways so I am just going to get it. Will still try for ABFAS in the future though.
