Just took ABIM and freaking out...can someone who pass last year

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please tell me what is the % you need to get right. I made so many stupid mistakes and so many of the questions seemed out of left field. This sucks....if I fail everything is going to be a mess
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You will be ok. And why if you fail everything is going to be a mess? The majority of hospitals etc gives you up to 5 years to become board certified after residency. I just finished residency and I will start as a hospitalist and my hospital gives me a 5 year window period to become board certified.
 
....at least I'm not the only one freaking out! I thought the ABIM questions were supposedly easier than MKSAP? They were the most RANDOM questions I could have imagined...and there were a few where I honestly thought the answer wasn't there. There several that I tried looking up when I got home only to find that the answers weren't even in Med Study!
 
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Yeah hopefully I'm over-reacting but I know I missed several of the easy questions with stupid mistakes. Also, I agree a lot of the questions seemed out of left field and frankly not that important of a topic. Plus I couldn't focus as well in the afternoon blocks.

Still does anyone know what % you need to get right to pass usually? Heard like 65% but I can't find an actual % any place....
 
Just remember that you just have to be smarter than the dumbest 10% (roughly) of medicine residents taking the test, if that makes you feel any better. When I took the ABIM the percentage to pass was about 65%.
 
Hope you guys end up doing well.

I am taking the exam in a few days- and can't find the exam breakdown...

How many questions per block?
how many minutes are given per question? I heard you don't feel as "rushed" compared to the USMLE exams.

THanks for your input

Halogen
 
http://www.abim.org/exam/exam-day.aspx

http://www.abim.org/pdf/blueprint/im_moc.pdf

Registration Varies
Tutorial Optional, up to 30 minutes
Instructions and Pledge of Honesty Up to ten minutes
First Session Up to two hours
Break Optional, up to 20 minutes (unused test time will increase the amount of available break time)*
Second Session Up to two hours
Break Optional, up to 60 minutes (unused test time will increase the amount of available break time)*
Third Session Up to two hours
Break Optional, up to 20 minutes (unused test time will increase the amount of available break time)*
Fourth Session Up to two hours
Optional Survey Up to ten minutes
Total Approximately ten hours
 
I already saw this info you provided. It is too nonspecific.

Does anybody know how many q's per section and the time allotted per question?

The USMLE board provided this info so why can't the IM boards !


Halogen
 
halogen said:
I already saw this info you provided. It is too nonspecific.

Does anybody know how many q's per section and the time allotted per question?

The USMLE board provided this info so why can't the IM boards !


Halogen
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4 sections of 60 questions each; you get about 2 hours per section. There is a lot more time than what is given for the step exams.
 
If you're fluent in English you will not run out of time on any of the ABIM boards. There are very few questions where reasoning through the responses for prolonged periods will make a difference. If you are not fluent in English I could see having some difficulty since some of the questions go on for a while and you have to filter out the fluff from the important parts of the stem.
 
I am actually kind of angry about the content of this exam. It had NOTHING to do with what we see in real life. It felt more like "Medical Jeopardy" than a licensing exam. It was all sorts of obscure factoids that were "either know it or you dont" type questions. No figuring out, or reasoning, or clinical intelligence. Argh.

Are they trying to lower the pass rate of the exam? After this whole board-question sharing fiasco (Arora course), are they trying to make sure no one has seen or thought of these questions before? While I don't want a whole bunch of unqualified internists out there, how useful was this really? Aren't we short of doctors (especially generalists) in this country?
 
At least I'm not the only one that thought there were weird ? on it. After I got back home I could not find the answers to some of those ? in medstdy, first aid etc. I think many of those ? may have been test questions that are cycled in the pool of ? for the first time.

I also thought that the difficulty level increased as each section advanced.
 
Shah_Patel_PT said:
At least I'm not the only one that thought there were weird ? on it. After I got back home I could not find the answers to some of those ? in medstdy, first aid etc. I think many of those ? may have been test questions that are cycled in the pool of ? for the first time.

I also thought that the difficulty level increased as each section advanced.
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agree with everyone else. very stupid exam. instead of testing me multiple times on the minutia of differentiating sle from cryoglobulinemia, perhaps they could have asked some questions about copd/asthma, depression, or stress test management. i am serious when i say that out of the 240 questions I took none of them covered those subjects.

i know they use subspecialists to design questions, and they use them too much, because they obviously aren't interested in thoroughly testing a candidate on the real management of common conditions. it seems to me being boarded in internal medicine is just about memorizing little details to pass an exam, not being competent in treating people from a generalists perspective. i understand they have to ask tough questions at times to differentiate the men from the boys (although does the score matter at all? not sure), but they ignore too much basic management. they could easily ask more specific details about management of common conditions which come up everyday to make the exam more difficult.

frustrating.
 
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Shah_Patel_PT said:
I also thought that the difficulty level increased as each section advanced.
Click to expand...

Ha ha! Me too! It took nearly twice as long to do the last block as the first. The questions started getting ridiculous! I nearly laughed out loud because they were so "out there".

I'm not sure if everyone has the blocks or questions in the same order, but we probably did!
 
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treesap said:
Ha ha! Me too! It took nearly twice as long to do the last block as the first. The questions started getting ridiculous! I nearly laughed out loud because they were so "out there".

I'm not sure if everyone has the blocks or questions in the same order, but we probably did!
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same with me. finished 1st block in 60 min. last block in 90 min.
 
On the initial certification, they do use experimental questions (not on the maintenance) so perhaps that's why they are so far out there.

Even on MKSAP, it's frustrating....a good, not-lazy internist would simply not be answering about 70% of what MKSAP expects you to know......it's ridiculous minutiae.

So much wasted energy on stuff that barely happens to people -- in light of the fact that even blood pressure and diabetes are poorly controlled you could really explore those two subjects and help more people and make better internists.

How about a question about how smoking should be a vital sign....?! No, we have to know about pecularities in advanced cancer treatments.

Still try not to fret.....we'll see how this shakes out. I'm sure you did ok.
 
Does anybody know how many questions/percentage you need to get right to pass?
I read that you needed 65% to pass in 2005, but not sure what it is now.
Back then, the exam also had 330 questions, as opposed to the present 240.
Thanks!
 
Well, I am surprised was so hard this year. I took it 5 years ago and honestly the only things needed to pass was a driver's license and a #2 pencil.
NA
 
Do you get an actual score on the report or is it just pass/fail? What about individual content areas?

It would seem strange to pay so much for such a test and not get any information in terms of a percentile, etc.
 
zeloc said:
Do you get an actual score on the report or is it just pass/fail? What about individual content areas?

It would seem strange to pay so much for such a test and not get any information in terms of a percentile, etc.
Click to expand...

You get all of that.
 
Shah_Patel_PT said:
At least I'm not the only one that thought there were weird ? on it. After I got back home I could not find the answers to some of those ? in medstdy, first aid etc. I think many of those ? may have been test questions that are cycled in the pool of ? for the first time.

I also thought that the difficulty level increased as each section advanced.
Click to expand...


that's exactly what I felt too actually.

And I'm sort of relieved to hear people have had similar insecurity about their exam as I've had for the past month. Anyone know when the results come out? I'm not sure i want to know, though. 😛
 
WorkaholicsAnon said:
that's exactly what I felt too actually.

And I'm sort of relieved to hear people have had similar insecurity about their exam as I've had for the past month. Anyone know when the results come out? I'm not sure i want to know, though. 😛
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I thought the exam was ridiculously hard. I didn't remember half the information being even in the medstudy notes or MKSAP questions. I am anxious about the results.. The results are supposed to come out the 3rd week of October. Did people who took it earlier in the cycle think the exam was any easier. I took it on the last available date and was just wondering if there seemed to be a perceived difference.
 
IMhospitalist said:
I thought the exam was ridiculously hard. I didn't remember half the information being even in the medstudy notes or MKSAP questions. I am anxious about the results.. The results are supposed to come out the 3rd week of October. Did people who took it earlier in the cycle think the exam was any easier. I took it on the last available date and was just wondering if there seemed to be a perceived difference.
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I remember thinking it was a bit harder than I expected, but was not really worried that I wouldn't pass. I agree w/some of the above comments about the minutiae covered and the multiple questions about obscure rheumatologic diseases, etc. I also remember getting multiple questions about autoimmune liver dz., etc. and hardly anything about diabetes or COPE or HTN, which I also thought was stupid. They don't set the bar super high for passing...I believe about 10% or less of first time test takers fail, so most of you will probably pass. I didn't really study as much as I should have and still easily passed, though I didn't do super great.
 
IMhospitalist said:
I thought the exam was ridiculously hard. I didn't remember half the information being even in the medstudy notes or MKSAP questions. I am anxious about the results.. The results are supposed to come out the 3rd week of October. Did people who took it earlier in the cycle think the exam was any easier. I took it on the last available date and was just wondering if there seemed to be a perceived difference.
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I took it towards the end of the month too--Aug 26th. But my colleagues and friends who took it earlier were complaining about similar issues.


dragonfly99 said:
I remember thinking it was a bit harder than I expected, but was not really worried that I wouldn't pass. I agree w/some of the above comments about the minutiae covered and the multiple questions about obscure rheumatologic diseases, etc. I also remember getting multiple questions about autoimmune liver dz., etc. and hardly anything about diabetes or COPE or HTN, which I also thought was stupid. They don't set the bar super high for passing...I believe about 10% or less of first time test takers fail, so most of you will probably pass. I didn't really study as much as I should have and still easily passed, though I didn't do super great.
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When did you take boards? Was it this year? We are specifically talking about this year's exam seeming to be a lot harder and less related to exam prep materials than seemed to be in past years from what people said.
 
YES, i believe 2010 abim will go down in history... for alot of reasons... I agree, did not seem to be the bread and butter of im (htn,dm etc).. felt my exam prep was worthless!!! I know they have "3mos" to give us results.. wonder when we will get the news... worst case scenario.. i have no idea to prepare for repeat test.... 🙁


WorkaholicsAnon said:
I took it towards the end of the month too--Aug 26th. But my colleagues and friends who took it earlier were complaining about similar issues.




When did you take boards? Was it this year? We are specifically talking about this year's exam seeming to be a lot harder and less related to exam prep materials than seemed to be in past years from what people said.
Click to expand...
 
I personally thought it was a fair test. There were a few WTF questions, mostly reasonable questions and then a few ridiculously easy questions. I am sure I passed just waiting to see how well I passed (not that it matters). Part of the deal is that I did not do endless hours of preparation. Perhaps since I expected it to be difficult it met my expectations. Not sure but honestly I felt it was on Par with the ITE I took in residency.
 
VJWDO said:
I personally thought it was a fair test. There were a few WTF questions, mostly reasonable questions and then a few ridiculously easy questions. I am sure I passed just waiting to see how well I passed (not that it matters). Part of the deal is that I did not do endless hours of preparation. Perhaps since I expected it to be difficult it met my expectations. Not sure but honestly I felt it was on Par with the ITE I took in residency.
Click to expand...

Anyone heard rumors that the results are out in 3rd week of October?
 
VJWDO said:
I personally thought it was a fair test. There were a few WTF questions, mostly reasonable questions and then a few ridiculously easy questions. I am sure I passed just waiting to see how well I passed (not that it matters). Part of the deal is that I did not do endless hours of preparation. Perhaps since I expected it to be difficult it met my expectations. Not sure but honestly I felt it was on Par with the ITE I took in residency.
Click to expand...

I actually thought it was more doable than the ITE, but I didn't study at all for the ITEs and i studied pretty hard for the ABIM. On the ITEs I had a tough time finishing, and probably left about 50-70 questions blank per section, just because i didn't get to them. I didn't have this issue on the ABIM.

However, it doesn't change the fact that there were more than a bunch of questions on the ABIM, especially in the last 2 sections, that were not covered at ALL, even remotely, by exam prep materials. Even after the test when I went home and was trying to look up those topics to see if i got it right, I had a tough time finding the answers, even through Google.
 
Yeah I called ABIM and they were not helpful. Recording said results have not been release and that we should expect reults within 3 months of test date. I think mid august is when the first test dates were so worst case scenario is probably 11/15. I agree that my friends who took it last year heard in late october.

They did say the results will be emailed so I guess I am just going to chill and wait.
 
VJWDO said:
Yeah I called ABIM and they were not helpful. Recording said results have not been release and that we should expect reults within 3 months of test date. I think mid august is when the first test dates were so worst case scenario is probably 11/15. I agree that my friends who took it last year heard in late october.

They did say the results will be emailed so I guess I am just going to chill and wait.
Click to expand...

I think I am just tired of waiting for the email.. I can only check the website so many times before I just drive myself crazy... Last year they were out on the 20th according to the 2009 thread....
 
It's so funny how you guys are so eager to find out! I am glad the results are not out yet, and I dont want to know when they come out!!
 
WorkaholicsAnon said:
It's so funny how you guys are so eager to find out! I am glad the results are not out yet, and I dont want to know when they come out!!
Click to expand...

What's even more funny....laboring for 3 years of residency...intense prep for a 10 hour esoteric exam ...and after all that ....not wanting to know your results...
 
REGGAE said:
What's even more funny....laboring for 3 years of residency...intense prep for a 10 hour esoteric exam ...and after all that ....not wanting to know your results...
Click to expand...

Yeah, if only the exam actually reflected what I'm supposed to know after all that labor and study... 😎

😛


but seriously though, if i passed I do want to know just so i can forget about it. If i didn't pass, I would rather have a couple more months of blissful boards-studying-free life. 😀
 
I took the test August 10th - my results were posted sometime between Friday night (Friday morning in the US) and Saturday mid-day (Early AM in the US) - I have not gotten an e-mail from ABIM, so those of you who are anxiously waiting should check the site.

I Passed! Hooray! On MKSAP 15 I was in the 55-75% range - mid 60s on most subjects. Completed all but 257 questions, and finished all the questions in the subjects I was doing worst in, so must have learned something from them.

My impression of the test was that there were 2 kinds of questions - some fairly straightforward that I was pretty sure I knew the answer to, and some that were incredibly esoteric, as per some of the above posts. Afterwards, I thought I had either passed or if I failed I had no idea how I would change my study to pass a second attempt - so I'm glad I passed (and glad the test freaked out other people). Of course I'm too superstitious to have posted in this thread until I had my results. . .

Hope you all get your results soon!
 
are all the results released on the same day???? cuz my site says results not available??
 
How often does the ABIM make a mistake with the results? I cannot believe that i failed this exam. I am quite bummed actually 🙁🙁 I did all the MKSAO questions, was in the 60% range for the most part...that had to count for something?! guess just have to get back in the saddle again and start studying some December. Don't know how to change my study strategy....
 
yobabydoc said:
How often does the ABIM make a mistake with the results? I cannot believe that i failed this exam. I am quite bummed actually 🙁🙁 I did all the MKSAO questions, was in the 60% range for the most part...that had to count for something?! guess just have to get back in the saddle again and start studying some December. Don't know how to change my study strategy....
Click to expand...

sorry to hear about your results...did your site say fail or you just didn't get any pass in the result section? mine is just results not available and i don't know what that means?
 
I know 2 exam competent persons who failed this year....ominous...
 
It said fail in the first part and then in the second part you get the Not certified blah blah blah. I have gone to the site several times because I cannot believe it. I have never failed an exam in medicine before....I am trying to get out of the rot right now and see the positive...I hope it's an error but....
 
brookdoc said:
sorry to hear about your results...did your site say fail or you just didn't get any pass in the result section? mine is just results not available and i don't know what that means?
Click to expand...

It will say "Pass" or "Fail" under the results section.
I don't know that all the results are up yet. Half of my residency class doesn't have their results yet or didn't get the email yet. This seems very random.
 
Well looks like I passed....will see when the official report comes out how close it was. Why is the abim site so freakin slow....ridiculous...maybe take the $1000+ we spend on the exam and upgrade your sever lol
 
sorry for people who have not passed. After getting through MCATs, Steps, etc....this one seems like a crazy hurdle to have to pass and it's not required for licensure thankfully.

can't understand why only some people have been informed. i thought they release all results at similar points.
 
FAILED !! 😡 But congrats to all that passed. I think I could handle the failure if I had honestly not studied.. but gave a solid couple months, did all of mksap about 65% score. Board review etc.. the worst part now is WHERE DO I START NOW!...
 
My score still hasn't posted. Getting super worried. My husband and other classmates have their scores. Anyone else or friends having same luck? Hope it not a fail sign-- I haven't failed a test yet.... so worried.😕
 
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