CB

[Rusro Evans]

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Passed First attempt.
As I expected, first day I did worsen than second. Second day was very straight forward, so I'm not sure how can u fail it with good prep. I felt that overcooked everything on EKG, bu end up getting like 99th percentile. So as long as code correct, you should be fine 🙂)) I used Okeef and EKG source, which can be confusing since they contradict each other at time. But ekgs were very straight forward, you very bread and butter. Cath and echo were also very doable.

Now, First day. Oh boy it sucked. And I scored less on it than on the second. Questions were long and confusing. As mentioned prior a lot of physical exam questions, HEART SOUNDS was like every other question I felt. ACCSAP is way too easy. So my advice here do as many questions from as many sources as possible.

But all in all exam is double, as long as you took a time a very good prep.


BTW so this "Trick" with checking if you are able to register for the exam again, means nothing. I know people who failed exam and they initially did not see a Cardiovascular Disease on the drop down window before they received a score.

 

[joan88hugo]

I want to pay it forward to those who've contributed to this forum before and to share my experience. I passed echo, nuc and CT boards before this exam. Studying for those tests was helpful for passing general boards. I would recommend not to take the board prep lightly though just because you passed other board exams.

Day 1 is very doable with mayo videos and accsap. ACCSAP questions are shorter and easier than the board exam's, but they are a helpful foundation and will get you the core knowledge you need to pass. You do have to pair it with Mayo videos for a comprehensive understanding. There are always going to be a handful of questions from leftfield, not worth in my opinion to do anything beyond this for those questions as the goal is to pass, not ace the exam.

For Day 2, I used mayo coding videos, did 10% ecgsource, and almost all of okeefe. The discrepancies in coding even across okeefe vs mayo vs ecgsource are frustrating. I coded max 4 on ekg part, coded everything i saw for echo part, and only coded the main findings for the cath part. I was very nervous about day 2 because I knew I missed at least 5 major findings on echo. I recommend really reviewing the mayo echo lectures even if you have passed boards and knowing what echo image corresponds to each diagnosis on the echo sheet.

The method above got me an average score on day 1 and slightly above average on day 2.

my biggest recommendations are start early with board prep, don't underestimate the prep just because you passed prior boards, and don't fret if you realize you made errors or missed things after the test. you are all capable of passing, I hope there is better clarity and prep materials in the future because it's very taxing to have this weigh on your mind and not have clarity on what is expected. all my best to you all.

 

[dvl26]

Hello if anyone is interested to study for boards for next year, please let me know. Looking for study partner. Thanks Congratulations to everyone who passed.

Where abouts are you. I have to take it next year and just registered. I am in PST time zone. Thank you

 

[dvl26]

Failed day two by a few points and by extension the whole thing.... Did a mix of Okeefe and EcgSource. Honestly pretty puzzled on what I would do different next time around. The fact that coding is this opaque is absolutely asinine. Tempted to give them the $250 for a rescore given how close my margin is but I doubt it will change anything.

I did very well on day 1 with combination of ACCSAP, targeted Mayo videos and Boardvitals. There were multiple questions that I got correct only due to board vitals. Unfortunately I dont have any advice for day two and I'm at a loss for what i'm going to do next time around.

I've never failed an exam up to this point and have had above average scores on ABIM, Nuclear, Echo and RPVI.

Sorry to hear that. In same boat. I am in PST time zone. If interested in study partner via zoom or whatever else the case might be, I am open. Just registered for next year. Thank you

 

[oxyled]

Congrats to all who finally beat it and good luck to everyone who still needs to. It's a terrible test no doubt. I know the pain and frustration - and its usually b/c of day 2 the most asinine concept for testing ever. Passed with very healthy margins on my second try. Started studying in July I would say (while working full time). I would study ~1 hour on weeknights after work and crank out ~8 hours on the weekend (usually 4 hours Sat + Sun). Also i did ask for rescore last year and, no surprise, no change at all. If it'll give you piece of mind, sure, but of course the ABIM aren't going to change anything.


day 1: foundation is there for all of us; we all know our stuff. I used Mayo videos, did all of ACCSAP ques, did all of Okeefe questions (they just have a lot of multimodality imaging which pops up frequently on boards). I also was up to date on all ACC guidelines. For me, this was more than enough to pass day 1. As others have said, accsap questions are shorter and easier overall but they are still helpful.

day 2: majority of my efforts were here because this what got me on my first try.
> ECG: i only used ECG Source the second time around. First time when i didn't pass i had used OKeefe ECG. It's unfortunate because there also discrepancies in coding what's correct/incorrect btw the 2 systems. I did maybe 3 codes per ECG if i recall correctly. By the time i finished studying, I had gone through ECG source 3x through and through.
> echo: ECG source echos; OKeefe, mayo echo - i overcoded on my second go around. Anything I saw and I was certain about, I coded: thickness, LV size, normal wall motion, etc.
> cath: ECG source cath films, OKeefe, mayo cath, even tried this website called cathed.org - same thing - I overcoded. Unless the vessel was absolutely pristine, i would add "insignificant stenosis" option

 

[nb0009]

Where abouts are you. I have to take it next year and just registered. I am in PST time zone. Thank you

Hello, same here. I am in PST. We can study on weekends for now and then work our schedule.

 

[dvl26]

Hello, same here. I am in PST. We can study on weekends for now and then work our schedule.

Can you please text or whatsapp me at 3155606990 and we shall figure out a schedule? Thank you.