MKSAP Question %

[ydave77]

Hey just wondering what everyone has heard for the ABIM...

Approximately what % should you be getting right on MKSAP questions to pass ABIM...

I think alot of us would love to know...

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[elwademd]

i've wondered the same thing.

from what i've heard, on the abim itself, somewhere around 60-65% is a passing score. the only online source i've found for this is a sort of wiki type entry, which we all know or should know is to be taken with a grain of salt: http://residencyandfellowship.com/ABIM_Internal_Medicine_Boards

i've been told by many former residents and attendings that mksap is harder than the abim itself. as i've yet to take the abim, i can only give you this anecdotal info.

so with the above, my guess is that if you can get 2/3 (67%) right on mksap, then you should be fine for abim.

 

[ydave77]

thats what i was guessing....anyone else with input...i am sure we would all love to hear it...thanks

I am right around the 60-65% range..so a little worried...

i've wondered the same thing.

from what i've heard, on the abim itself, somewhere around 60-65% is a passing score. the only online source i've found for this is a sort of wiki type entry, which we all know or should know is to be taken with a grain of salt: http://residencyandfellowship.com/ABIM_Internal_Medicine_Boards

i've been told by many former residents and attendings that mksap is harder than the abim itself. as i've yet to take the abim, i can only give you this anecdotal info.

so with the above, my guess is that if you can get 2/3 (67%) right on mksap, then you should be fine for abim.

 

[liquid magma]

I'm getting about 70% and am kinda worried. Anyone with some experience or knowledge about the correlation btwn MKSAP and the ABIM??

Cheers

 

[dragonfly99]

the MKSAP questions are widely believed to be harder than the actual exam...so if getting 70% correct on practice questions, you would easily pass (passing is supposed to be around 66%)

 

[elwademd]

scores are not officially out, but we should all know by now whether we passed or not.

thank God i passed.

fwiw, i got about 60% right on mksap, and passed the abim. i honestly don't care what my overall score was.

 

[dragonfly99]

I think the MKSAP is harder than the actual test.
If someone is getting 70% on MKSAP they should easily pass the ABIM.
I don't know what would be a "safe" %age to be getting correct on MKSAP. 60% correct you'd probably be fairly safe. I didn't use MKSAP that much...used Medstudy and one of their question CD's too.

 

[dragonfly99]

On tip about ABIM exam that I have is that there seem to be a lot of questions about autoimmune diseases/rheumatology that seldom come up in actual practice (at least for me). Or if they did, I'd just look them up. Ditto for weird GI disordered, particularly unusual liver diseases. Few questions about management of routine conditions like diabetes, etc. They are trying to see whether you can pick up on the "zebras" so you might get 2 questions about some weird liver dz and what antibody/lab you would check to diagnose it, and only 4 questions about Type II diabetes, which is very common.

 

[elwademd]

I think the MKSAP is harder than the actual test.
If someone is getting 70% on MKSAP they should easily pass the ABIM.
I don't know what would be a "safe" %age to be getting correct on MKSAP. 60% correct you'd probably be fairly safe. I didn't use MKSAP that much...used Medstudy and one of their question CD's too.

i was going through some papers, and found that my percentage correct on mksap was 60.2%, and i passed. i need to correct my post above.

On tip about ABIM exam that I have is that there seem to be a lot of questions about autoimmune diseases/rheumatology that seldom come up in actual practice (at least for me). Or if they did, I'd just look them up. Ditto for weird GI disordered, particularly unusual liver diseases. Few questions about management of routine conditions like diabetes, etc. They are trying to see whether you can pick up on the "zebras" so you might get 2 questions about some weird liver dz and what antibody/lab you would check to diagnose it, and only 4 questions about Type II diabetes, which is very common.

sometimes i wonder if we only remember the really "out there" questions, and don't remember the sort of everyday questions.

in any event, for future checkers of this thread, here's a link to the breakdown of questions:

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

 

[dragonfly99]

Yes, I passed too. Not sure what % correct I was getting on ABIM questions but it probably was between 60 and 75%. I really don't remember.
I thought the psych questions were easy...i.e. obvious ones like the same type that would be on Step 2 and 3.
I found the optho part hard...it would have been good if I had reviewed pictures of various eye disorders, etc.

 

[elwademd]

Yes, I passed too. Not sure what % correct I was getting on ABIM questions but it probably was between 60 and 75%. I really don't remember.
I thought the psych questions were easy...i.e. obvious ones like the same type that would be on Step 2 and 3.
I found the optho part hard...it would have been good if I had reviewed pictures of various eye disorders, etc.

the psych questions were very generic- diagnosis major depressive disorder, looking for delirium versus dementia in the elderly, medication interaction.

i remember a very step 1 type question- by what mechanism do ace inhibitors lower blood pressure?

i don't remember any optho questions... so either i had no clue and blocked it out, or it was too easy (i'm leaning towards the 1st option, lol).



hopefully other members will chime in about their percentage correct on mksap and whether or not they passed.

 

[Hova2005]

I averaged about 70% on MKSAP and passed - thank God! The thought of studying for that thing again was giving me nightmares....

I remember having a lot of Cards questions - however it was all murmurs, and really no ACS, which irritated me. Minimal Ophtho. Agree Psych was straightforward.

 

[dragonfly99]

I got my score report...they have it divided up by sections. I scored >70% correct on all the sections except pulmonary, which I sucked at (only 57% right, which was below the average test-taker). I got about 78-low 80's% right on most of the sections, which was only about average. Interestingly, this yielded a slightly better than average overall score (they tell you your %ile for each category of question). So with my % correct, I scored slightly better than average overall (which means I passed easily). Lots of folks did better than me however. So I think if you score 60% on practice questions you'll probably get 70% right on the actual exam and then you would pass easily I would think. Only about the bottom 9% or so flunk. I think if you review all the major areas in either MedStudy or MKSAP, and study fairly hard, everyone should pass. If you are a terrible test taker then study harder than average...you know you you are. Also remember to use process of elimination and make educated guesses if you don't know...same as all other multiple guess exams. Agree on the cardiac murmurs being emphasized on the exam, and not management of ACS or CHF.

 

[elwademd]

I got my score report...they have it divided up by sections. I scored >70% correct on all the sections except pulmonary, which I sucked at (only 57% right, which was below the average test-taker). I got about 78-low 80's% right on most of the sections, which was only about average. Interestingly, this yielded a slightly better than average overall score (they tell you your %ile for each category of question). So with my % correct, I scored slightly better than average overall (which means I passed easily). Lots of folks did better than me however. So I think if you score 60% on practice questions you'll probably get 70% right on the actual exam and then you would pass easily I would think. Only about the bottom 9% or so flunk. I think if you review all the major areas in either MedStudy or MKSAP, and study fairly hard, everyone should pass. If you are a terrible test taker then study harder than average...you know you you are. Also remember to use process of elimination and make educated guesses if you don't know...same as all other multiple guess exams. Agree on the cardiac murmurs being emphasized on the exam, and not management of ACS or CHF.

still waiting on my official notice.

I averaged about 70% on MKSAP and passed - thank God! The thought of studying for that thing again was giving me nightmares....

I remember having a lot of Cards questions - however it was all murmurs, and really no ACS, which irritated me. Minimal Ophtho. Agree Psych was straightforward.

Agree on the cardiac murmurs being emphasized on the exam, and not management of ACS or CHF.

i wonder if the powers that be (whoever writes the questions) think that management of chf and acs are too easy... or if they think there's too much potential variability in the answers for those questions. whereas the murmur is the murmur so to speak.

of course the funny part about the murmur is that the standard of care would be to proceed with an echocardiogram for any murmur. you rarely hear a cardiologist talk about maneuvers at the bedside these days!