Failed ABIM, please advise.

[Lemonland]

Dear SDN friends,
I have failed my ABIM cert. And I failed miserably. Mostly scared that I didn't know that I was able to do such poorly on a standardized test.
After a long and hard look inside here are some facts,
1. I am a poor test taker. I am the one who will always pick the wrong answer between the last two options. I read the question stem, read the options and go back to the question. But still, I end up choosing the wrong answer.
2. I am clinically sound. I am a hospitalist, knock on wood, things have been going great. I am confident in my craft.
3. I am worried about how my colleagues will perceive of me or how my job will be affected as of right now..PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GIVE ME SOME INSIGHT
4. I really just want to pass. I have zero remorse that I failed cause I know this exam does not define me. I am devastated that I have to do this again. Any words of wisdome is appreciated.



Plan:
GOAL:
Score 380, assuming pass at 371

Resources I have :
- I do not think I can study Harrison
- I have med study videos and books
- I have UW qbank
- I have awesome review books from last year
- I have MKSAP as well

To do:
- I do not want to study Harrison or MKSAP
- I will finish off UW at least twice if not more
- I can study board basics and may watch Medstudy videos
- I will read through the Awesome review as well


Please advise, share your experiences. I am so devastated.

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[chessknt]

You have 7 years from residency to complete so one failure shouldnt get you down too much. I cant help with a study plan but I will say literally none of your colleagues will know or even care nor will your job (unless you are in academics trying to advance to a higher tenured rank) so I wouldnt let that nag you.

 

[CatFactorial]

UW, UW, UW, UW, medstudy/awesome review (don't know about either but they seem to be recommended).

You'll pass. Happens to the best of us. Good luck.

 

[bobow98]

U world is key. Don't overthink it - just pick the one that seems the most right. You have several years of board eligibility. Would shoot for getting 70% right on UWORLD consistently on the block tests before you take again good luck!!!

 

[Bobblehead]

Resources I have :
- I do not think I can study Harrison
- I have med study videos and books
- I have UW qbank
- I have awesome review books from last year
- I have MKSAP as well

To do:
- I do not want to study Harrison or MKSAP
- I will finish off UW at least twice if not more
- I can study board basics and may watch Medstudy videos
- I will read through the Awesome review as well

There seems to be a disconnect between your request and your attitude. You do not want to study Harrison or MKSAP, yet whatever you just did for prep did not work. You appear to have multiple resources including "review books from last year", MKSAP, UW qbank, med study videos and books. You need to consider how many of those you actually used in a manner where you could remember things.

Some people don't want to read textbooks but are willing to do hundreds of questions and read the rather substantial explanations that accompany those questions. You must read the explanations because they often contain other bits that can arise in similar questions.

Watch the Medstudy videos if you're more of a visual learner or want to be taught. Read through whatever textbook like materials you have that are easily digestable. Review as many hundreds of questions as you can until you can explain the rationale behind the correct (and even more importantly the incorrect) answers.

 

[rokshana]

Awesome review...then awesome review again...and then read awesome review over and over and over and over again...then read it one more time.

 

[zeloc]

1. I am a poor test taker. I am the one who will always pick the wrong answer between the last two options. I read the question stem, read the options and go back to the question. But still, I end up choosing the wrong answer.

The problem here is your psychology. You have to get it out of your mind that you are a "poor test taker". You have even convinced yourself that you are going to pick the wrong answer between the last 2 options.

Next, and it's been a long time since I took the boards, but what I advise is that after you read the question stem, you don't read the options. Reading the options is just a chance to confuse yourself. And then you mention that you go back to the question again. This is a waste of time. For most of the questions you should know the answer without looking at the options. You only do so to identify which one was already in your mind.
This could also be a pitfall when you are answering practice questions. You shouldn't get in the habit of memorizing the answers, rather you need to know the content.

Aiming for a score of 380 assuming pass at 371 is a narrow therapeutic index. You have to aim much higher, so that if you miss it by a little, you are still passing. And your preparation should be commensurate with your goal score.

You haven't mentioned why you failed, there needs to be some more self-analysis to identify what the weaknesses are so that you can address them in your preparation.

 

[Hotshy]

I am going to echo the other responses on this thread. Master Uworld and you will pass. Go through it as many times as you need to in order to master the content. I took ABIM this year as well and Uworld qbank content was very similar to the actual exam. I agree, do not waste your time with MKSAP. Good luck.

 

[Lemonland]

You have 7 years from residency to complete so one failure shouldnt get you down too much. I cant help with a study plan but I will say literally none of your colleagues will know or even care nor will your job (unless you are in academics trying to advance to a higher tenured rank) so I wouldnt let that nag you.

Thanks. I am calmer now. No higher tenured rank in sight

 

[Lemonland]

UW, UW, UW, UW, medstudy/awesome review (don't know about either but they seem to be recommended).

You'll pass. Happens to the best of us. Good luck.

Thank you. I was reading all the responses but just did not have it in me to reply. Your comment helped me console. This is literally the first exam I failed and it is awful.

 

[Lemonland]

There seems to be a disconnect between your request and your attitude. You do not want to study Harrison or MKSAP, yet whatever you just did for prep did not work. You appear to have multiple resources including "review books from last year", MKSAP, UW qbank, med study videos and books. You need to consider how many of those you actually used in a manner where you could remember things.

Some people don't want to read textbooks but are willing to do hundreds of questions and read the rather substantial explanations that accompany those questions. You must read the explanations because they often contain other bits that can arise in similar questions.

Watch the Medstudy videos if you're more of a visual learner or want to be taught. Read through whatever textbook like materials you have that are easily digestable. Review as many hundreds of questions as you can until you can explain the rationale behind the correct (and even more importantly the incorrect) answers.

You are right. I see it now. I completely omitted the part where I did not commit to any of the resources. Did UW half-heartedly 1.5 times. Did not review anything in-depth just skimmed through it for the sake of it. i have been to unfair to myself. I took the exam lightly because of how it was represented at times by others in front of me (my fault that I did not research) and by the fact I am too comfortable at my job. I probably was overconfident. I am sticking to UW,BB, medstudy videoes and Awesome review books. Planning to make my own flash cards.

I was scared if I am missing some secret or if I must study harrison !!!

 

[Lemonland]

The problem here is your psychology. You have to get it out of your mind that you are a "poor test taker". You have even convinced yourself that you are going to pick the wrong answer between the last 2 options.

Next, and it's been a long time since I took the boards, but what I advise is that after you read the question stem, you don't read the options. Reading the options is just a chance to confuse yourself. And then you mention that you go back to the question again. This is a waste of time. For most of the questions you should know the answer without looking at the options. You only do so to identify which one was already in your mind.
This could also be a pitfall when you are answering practice questions. You shouldn't get in the habit of memorizing the answers, rather you need to know the content.

Aiming for a score of 380 assuming pass at 371 is a narrow therapeutic index. You have to aim much higher, so that if you miss it by a little, you are still passing. And your preparation should be commensurate with your goal score.

You haven't mentioned why you failed, there needs to be some more self-analysis to identify what the weaknesses are so that you can address them in your preparation.

I 1. underestimated the exam itself 2. My job and how it cuts my prep time(7 on 7 off) 3. poor time mx 4. post residency chill . I set up myself for fail. I am going to process what you said. I may excite myself negatively so as you have mentioned. I will try to fix it. I have 8 months, well 4 really to prepare. Let me know if you life coach me through it. Ha! Thank you so much.

 

[drmohdali]

Dear SDN friends,
I have failed my ABIM cert. And I failed miserably. Mostly scared that I didn't know that I was able to do such poorly on a standardized test.
After a long and hard look inside here are some facts,
1. I am a poor test taker. I am the one who will always pick the wrong answer between the last two options. I read the question stem, read the options and go back to the question. But still, I end up choosing the wrong answer.
2. I am clinically sound. I am a hospitalist, knock on wood, things have been going great. I am confident in my craft.
3. I am worried about how my colleagues will perceive of me or how my job will be affected as of right now..PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GIVE ME SOME INSIGHT
4. I really just want to pass. I have zero remorse that I failed cause I know this exam does not define me. I am devastated that I have to do this again. Any words of wisdome is appreciated.



Plan:
GOAL:
Score 380, assuming pass at 371

Resources I have :
- I do not think I can study Harrison
- I have med study videos and books
- I have UW qbank
- I have awesome review books from last year
- I have MKSAP as well

To do:
- I do not want to study Harrison or MKSAP
- I will finish off UW at least twice if not more
- I can study board basics and may watch Medstudy videos
- I will read through the Awesome review as well


Please advise, share your experiences. I am so devastated.

can i buy awesome notes from you if you are done with them

 

[Airborne Flt Doc]

My Score 453/507 . I used Medstudy question bank 150 questions tutor mode ; took me about a week or two to get through blocks of 150 and watched most videos . Never used the books . I did UWorld question bank , MKSAP and MedStudy bank of questions.

Everyone-I wouldn’t waste the money on live board reviews unless you also have time to the questions. I feel like the money should go into multiple question banks.

 

[Airborne Flt Doc]

Awesome review...then awesome review again...and then read awesome review over and over and over and over again...then read it one more time.

I could hardly understand this Awesome review physician and he went too fast. Did not help me at all was a waste of money

 

[Airborne Flt Doc]

can i buy awesome notes from you if you are done with them

Forget those notes. Do UWorld questions and Mestudy questions

 

[tacowithgreensauce]

go look at abim blueprints

they pretty much tell u concepts they plan to test on. work ur study plan around that