Official ABIM 2013 Thread

[Dr Kelso]

The first time around..I spread myself too thin. I read all of mksap and made notes on it. I know what has worked for me in the past: pick 1 book and know it inside and out and do multiple Q banks. I didn't do that last year. I did however this year and I passed!
Also, me and friends went over everything together multiple times out loud so it would stick. That's the first thing he says at awesome review..study with a friend! If you don't have friends, u need to start making some lol
If you failed the exam, I suggest start studying before January..but that's just my opinion.
Good luck!

Congrats and thanks for your input..

I was going to go with the following

1- MedStudy DVDs (December-March) with MKSAP questions (1st round)
2- BB3 x2 (April-May) and 2nd round of MKSAP questions
3- Awesome review syllabus (if you have the books you dont need to go back to the live lectures) --> June and July with USMLE World x 2
4- August, read your notes and BB3

Good strategy ?

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[Dr Kelso]

One year ago, I was on the position of those who did not pass this exam. As I looked back on the things that made me NOT pass and worked on it. These were the things I made during this journey on passing this board exam;


1. RESPECT the test--- Same to the other forum members who took this test and passed... One needs to take time and prioritize this exam. Give the attention and time needed to prepare.
2. Get the appropriate test materials-- I did used MEDStudy books and cards, First Aid for boards, BB2. If im bored already with reading, i have used PASS machine videos. The Medstudy cards I used it when at work most of the time. For questions, MKSAP 15 & MEDStudy.
For the last 2-3 weeks BB2, old one but there is BB3 (Board Basic 3) now.
3. Pray hard...Exercise...have time with my family Hope everyone have a very supportive wife or any close relatives.

Awaiting for ABIM score report and let's see how did I improved..

So after passing this ABIM certfication..WHAT'S NEXT?

Congrats on passing..

Trying to line up my strategy for next year.. Do you think this would work in your opinion?

0- Grieve, recover from shock (October-November)

1- MedStudy DVDs (December-March) with MKSAP questions (1st round)
2- BB3 x2 (April-May) and 2nd round of MKSAP questions
3- Awesome review syllabus (if you have the books you dont need to go back to the live lectures) --> June and July with USMLE World x 2
4- August, read your notes and BB3

 

[sukara]

Sorry- Exam reports haven't come in the mail yet. When they do, I'll post again on how my exam strategy worked out for me.

Hi Sukura, can you please let us know what percentage of exam takers passed this session?

 

[Dr Kelso]

What guide is better for education / increasing knowledge base? MKSAP or MedStudy?

The trend seems to be MedStudy for education and MKSAP for questions based on the forum above

I really only want to use one guide for education as to not complicate things.

Please elaborate..

 

[Tastebuds]

What guide is better for education / increasing knowledge base? MKSAP or MedStudy?

The trend seems to be MedStudy for education and MKSAP for questions based on the forum above

I really only want to use one guide for education as to not complicate things.

Please elaborate..

It depends on your learning style..mksap is like a long narrative with a lot of details while medstudy is more like bullet points and less detailed. Both have the same material..just in a different way. I did mksap and I can tell you it takes months to get through all the books. Medstudy on the other hand, from what I hear, doesn't take as long. So pick a topic in both and see which one you like better.

 

[Dr Kelso]

It depends on your learning style..mksap is like a long narrative with a lot of details while medstudy is more like bullet points and less detailed. Both have the same material..just in a different way. I did mksap and I can tell you it takes months to get through all the books. Medstudy on the other hand, from what I hear, doesn't take as long. So pick a topic in both and see which one you like better.

Thanks!

 

[DoctorDr]

I did MKSAP books for education-- the long narrative way the first time, it did not work as it is not really set up for boards NOT like the Medstudy which I did used maximally at the start and this book really geared me towards boards bcoz it differentiates what are the BOARDS ARE testing..MKSAP Q&A was my main Q&A resource.. I did use also MEDSTUDY flashcards that helped me get the most important presentation for each disease entity that could be ask in ABIM..
I did used MEDSTUDY BOOKS FOR big guns that were tested like Cardio, GI, RHEUMA, gen medicine.and pulmonary.. .

 

[Thinker123]

Just checked by me and my wife!!!!! PASSED
Thanks you Lord....

Congrats. I've been rooting for you guys.

 

[Thinker123]

Well, just checked my status and I failed. I am in a very bad spot and want to see if anyone here can give advice.

This is the second time I took the board exam, and the second time I failed. I actually skipped one year in between the two attempts. I am a US medical grad who is in my third and final year of subspecialty fellowship. This puts me in a very, very tough situation. Without IM certification I am quite certain I will not be able to get a job in my specialty, nor would I be able to sit for the subspecialty boards. I have not had any academic probation or other difficulties in the past. As I spent an endless amount of time studying for the boards this year, the most I will ever be able to spend, I am pretty sure at this point that I would never be able to pass the exam. I went through both MKSAP and MedStudy multiple times and was consistently scoring 80+ percent on all question groups from both in all categories.

What in the world can someone without internal medicine board certification but who has completed residency actually do careerwise? I feel like I just have a couple of pieces of paper hanging on my wall that mean nothing now (degrees,etc).

Sorry to hear that. It took me 3 times too (spaced apart). You could always start studying again in February then you will actually have off for the summer this time to actually pass...then once you are done with boards, do a research year while you study for your specialty boards with moonlighting on the side.

 

[Thinker123]

I passed. This was my second attempt. For those who passed..congrats! For those who didn't I know how you feel. I will post more info later after getting my score report.
For now:
1. USMLE world questions are a true representation of the exam in my opinion. I did mksap, medstudy and usmle questions this time around. I remember a few questions right off usmle world.
2. Please please get a study partner...me and 2 others studied together and this helped tremendously!
3. Awesome board review is really great! Take the course a couple of months before the exam. Also go through the material once before going to the course as he goes really fast and it's overwhelming if you have not gone through the material a little
4. Board basics is the best book! I went over that book 4-5 times.. Highlighting, underlining and circling to the point that my book started falling apart

These are my suggestions. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding studying or just need moral support! You can do this!

Congrats!

 

[Thinker123]

Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 89


I have taken exam three times and failed three times. Each time I had tremendous stress in my life and all kinds of family issues. These have changed! Thank God but I am so afraid that I didn't take he exam this year. My standardized scores have remained about the same 341, 348 and 341 for 2010, 2011& 2012 respectively. I don't even really know how many questions that equates to in terms of me getting a passing score. The passing score is 370. I need to start studying. It I have been so disappointed with myself.

I have MKSAP 15, Medstudy, BB2. Some Medstudy videos, I also have some audio lectures I just acquired, they are Medstudy. I'm going to devise my study plan. I know I can do this, just bummed! Time to get over it and conquer this beast.

Hang in there and get a good study partner and stay positive and laugh. You'll get it.

 

[Thinker123]

I just found out I have failed for the third time. Now can't take it til 2015! I feel so deflated.

Sorry. Hang in there. Remember you are the best species on the best planet in the best country practicing the best profession. They can't take any of that away. They can't take away your education or your super bright future guaranteed to earn beaucoup bucks in 6 figures. That's something the average human only dreams of.

Hold your head up. Others will have far greater challenges. All souls have challenges.

 

[Dr Kelso]

I did MKSAP books for education-- the long narrative way the first time, it did not work as it is not really set up for boards NOT like the Medstudy which I did used maximally at the start and this book really geared me towards boards bcoz it differentiates what are the BOARDS ARE testing..MKSAP Q&A was my main Q&A resource.. I did use also MEDSTUDY flashcards that helped me get the most important presentation for each disease entity that could be ask in ABIM..
I did used MEDSTUDY BOOKS FOR big guns that were tested like Cardio, GI, RHEUMA, gen medicine.and pulmonary.. .

Sounds good! The MKSAP books are good but pretty verbose, Sounds like MedStudy is the way to go

 

[Thinker123]

So, I too failed the exam, and I am looking for a study partner for ABIM exam 2014. I am willing to use Skype, though I would also love to meet in person if possible. Does anyone have any ideas where to find such a partner?

I found a partner on this site. I was so lucky.
Skype worked perfectly. It was free and it doesn't limit you to locals only.
You can do searches and send each others links via skype to look at. It was just awesome.
Why waste time traveling? It just creates more excuses for "cancelling".
The way we did questions is one person read odd and the other person read even questions and we kept it up.
-find someone who is serious yet fun at the same time. It's helpful to laugh because you will spend a lot of time together so if your brain thinks you are having fun, it just works better.
-Partner was great for me because I remember conversations, debates, challenges, better than something I simply read.

1. Set a schedule that both of you agree upon. Let it finish early so you can have more time to go over things a second time. Some thing like 2 weeks per subject then 2 days per subject and like 5 free days before the exam is cool. Maybe even have an "off" week in the middle so you can use that as a make up or a real off if you did keep up. You may need to redo the schedule from time to time...cutting some topics to 10 days (maybe even Derm to 4 days) to accommodate things that come up. Life is not perfect...but try to keep up. If you mess up, forgive yourself and get back on track...don't just give up. Redoing the schedule makes you feel good again and sometimes that's needed.

2. Try to respect each other and make sure to reschedule as soon as you know you can't make it. Be a little flexible...so long as you finish in time. If your partner cancels, just keep doing other work on the subject. Sometimes people don't feel like reading-studying at night after work. Sometimes they are fine doing questions though...so if that's the case, plan to do 20 questions. Every bit helps

3. Plan to finish only ONE source before you start questions. The other sources you can still read while you are doing questions. For me, I picked my videos since I knew at worst it would be 4 hours (spread over 2-3 days). You can pick BB3, Medstudy, whatever you want. If you try to make it where you say you must finish ALL reading, you will constantly put off questions...which is a bad idea. At the same time you want to finish one source so you feel like you have a foundation for the questions and you are not getting your confidence blown. So just pick ONE and read the other 1-4 sources when you are free.

4. Make sure both of you understand and are honest with each other. If you are both not sure, take some time to both look it up and report back. It's a great learning experience. Quiz each other once in a while to verify.

Good luck.

 

[Dr Kelso]

I did MKSAP books for education-- the long narrative way the first time, it did not work as it is not really set up for boards NOT like the Medstudy which I did used maximally at the start and this book really geared me towards boards bcoz it differentiates what are the BOARDS ARE testing..MKSAP Q&A was my main Q&A resource.. I did use also MEDSTUDY flashcards that helped me get the most important presentation for each disease entity that could be ask in ABIM..
I did used MEDSTUDY BOOKS FOR big guns that were tested like Cardio, GI, RHEUMA, gen medicine.and pulmonary.. .

What's a reasonable price for MedStudy DVD's and MedStudy Books?

I'm seeing around $300 for DVD's and 300 for Books on Amazon

Sounds fair?

 

[IMDoc607]

Honestly to pass the exam you need three things....one is a good se to books like medstudy, mksap questions, and awesome review.

Honestly, I'm a horrible test taker and never did well on boards. My highest ITE score was 33 percentile. When I was taking the test I was laughing at how dead on awesome review was.

Anyone get their score report?

 

[ResidentMD]

Honestly to pass the exam you need three things....one is a good se to books like medstudy, mksap questions, and awesome review.

Honestly, I'm a horrible test taker and never did well on boards. My highest ITE score was 33 percentile. When I was taking the test I was laughing at how dead on awesome review was.

I just want to contribute that Awesome Review is heavily stressed upon on this forum. I have not seen those books; and I did fine and passed the first time around as have many other people here.

I think you need one set of questions and reading the answers thoroughly (most people use MKSAP but I have heard USMLEWorld is decent too) and one quick review book (e.g. Boards Basics 3). It will be good if you can read up on the areas you are weak in to fill in knowledge gaps that you identify as you solve more MCQs. For that, read whatever you want - Medstudy, MKSAP or Awesome Review. Its a waste of time and often not practical to read the entire MKSAP 16 from cover to cover.

Like people have said, just put in the time and focus on your areas that you dont feel comfortable, and get used to solving long MCQs, in which two answers appear correct, but only one is. This forum freaks out way too many people.

 

[Tastebuds]

I just want to contribute that Awesome Review is heavily stressed upon on this forum. I have not seen those books; and I did fine and passed the first time around as have many other people here.

I think you need one set of questions and reading the answers thoroughly (most people use MKSAP but I have heard USMLEWorld is decent too) and one quick review book (e.g. Boards Basics 3). It will be good if you can read up on the areas you are weak in to fill in knowledge gaps that you identify as you solve more MCQs. For that, read whatever you want - Medstudy, MKSAP or Awesome Review. Its a waste of time and often not practical to read the entire MKSAP 16 from cover to cover.

Like people have said, just put in the time and focus on your areas that you dont feel comfortable, and get used to solving long MCQs, in which two answers appear correct, but only one is. This forum freaks out way too many people.

I understand your position but a lot of people asking questions on this forum have failed the test at least once (including me)..so yes... If you failed, you should freak out. I'm glad you passed the first time around but some of us might want more information and need guidance. And if you failed, studying one book and one question bank will probably not be enough unless you just didn't put the effort in the first time around. No one should get false hope that studying for a couple of weeks and reading just BB3 and doing one question bank is enough. Especially if you already failed it before. This is just my opinion..considering I failed last year and passed this year.

 

[ABIM2013]

I understand your position but a lot of people asking questions on this forum have failed the test at least once (including me)..so yes... If you failed, you should freak out. I'm glad you passed the first time around but some of us might want more information and need guidance. And if you failed, studying one book and one question bank will probably not be enough unless you just didn't put the effort in the first time around. No one should get false hope that studying for a couple of weeks and reading just BB3 and doing one question bank is enough. Especially if you already failed it before. This is just my opinion..considering I failed last year and passed this year.

Couldn't agree with you more. The people (for the most part) that boast of passing with 2-3 weeks study using just a question bank to study tend to be good at gaming standardized tests, and pretty much they can skate by with minimum effort to scrape a pass. The worst thing that anyone can do is listen to their classmates who tell them only to use only a Qbank and to study a month before. It's a recipe for failure. It's also crass to brag about how easily you passed (not you personally) when it appears most of the people posting this year are looking for encouragement and advice having not passed.

 

[IMDoc607]

Couldn't agree with you more. The people (for the most part) that boast of passing with 2-3 weeks study using just a question bank to study tend to be good at gaming standardized tests, and pretty much they can skate by with minimum effort to scrape a pass. The worst thing that anyone can do is listen to their classmates who tell them only to use only a Qbank and to study a month before. It's a recipe for failure. It's also crass to brag about how easily you passed (not you personally) when it appears most of the people posting this year are looking for encouragement and advice having not passed.

I don't think anyone is bragging but I know I studied the most I ever did for this test. I started in November 2012 and read all of medstudy. When reading, I made notes of each book. Then I read over the topics a second time that I was terrible on. Furthermore, I watched the med study videos. Then I did all of mksap 15 and wrote down explanations. I did some of mksap 15 twice. To wrap it up I attended awesome review and studied his books 4 times. I studied my ***** for this test and I am proud that I passed. I'm even happier that I passed it on my own merits and knowledge not just by gaming the test. For those that failed, I am sorry to hear and wish you the best of luck. I will say that this test was the most confusing test I have ever taken. It means squat if you ask me.

 

[Faiza123]

Just wondering if any body had experience of job issues for not passing boards...like lost job, had work gap or had to change profession. I am very paranoid right now, have lost confidence and feel I might not be able to pass this exam ever. Please advise...need encouragement, for I am very depressed and it is effecting my life.

 

[DoctorDr]

What's a reasonable price for MedStudy DVD's and MedStudy Books?

I'm seeing around $300 for DVD's and 300 for Books on Amazon

Sounds fair?

For Medstudy books plus the flashcards&Q bank--around $700..look at their website to have the exact amount.. I did borrowed Medsrudy DVD b4 at medical library on my first try but did not pass...so I just focused on BOOKS, flashcards,&Q bank..I strongly believe that doing DVD is great for those people who have read the books already.. Just my thought...

Medstudy is reasonable$$$

 

[Tastebuds]

Just wondering if any body had experience of job issues for not passing boards...like lost job, had work gap or had to change profession. I am very paranoid right now, have lost confidence and feel I might not be able to pass this exam ever. Please advise...need encouragement, for I am very depressed and it is effecting my life.

Are you in fellowship right now or working? If your working, what speciality? Also is this the first time you failed the exam?

 

[Faiza123]

Are you in fellowship right now or working? If your working, what speciality? Also is this the first time you failed the exam?

Currently working as hospitalist. I failed twice, next year will be third consecutive year.

 

[chocoginger]

So, I too failed the exam, and I am looking for a study partner for ABIM exam 2014. I am willing to use Skype, though I would also love to meet in person if possible. Does anyone have any ideas where to find such a partner?

Last winter, I posted on this forum looking for a partner, but nobody replied I ended up googling "abim study partner" and found someone who had posted on a different forum site. I also wanted an in-person study partner intially, but ended up skype-ing with someone. And honestly, it was great. It's so much easier to skype with someone in the comfort of your home, especially after a long day, or if you're planning to go out later.

 

[chocoginger]

Currently working as hospitalist. I failed twice, next year will be third consecutive year.

I've never heard of this happening---like someone being fired/losing their job for not being boarded. I understand your worry though, last year after I found out I failed, I felt shame, paranoia, etc. Esp since everyone seemed to assume I had passed. Has anyone been asking you about it?

 

[Tastebuds]

Currently working as hospitalist. I failed twice, next year will be third consecutive year.

I'm a hospitalist and in our group a physician failed 3x and he is sitting out this year. Our hospital gives 5 years I think to pass it. So you are good. Also, there are locum tenems jobs that may not require you to be board certified because they really need physicians. Just focus on getting over the grief over the next couple of months and then focus on studying. You can do this...get a study partner to keep you motivated!

 

[Faiza123]

I've never heard of this happening---like someone being fired/losing their job for not being boarded. I understand your worry though, last year after I found out I failed, I felt shame, paranoia, etc. Esp since everyone seemed to assume I had passed. Has anyone been asking you about it?

That is what I am worried about, my employer is waiting for the result and I am not sure what will happen if I tell that I failed. and if I loose my job and have work gap on my resume how will it effect my job in future.
can you work in primary care or have your own practice if you are not board certified.

 

[Tastebuds]

That is what I am worried about, my employer is waiting for the result and I am not sure what will happen if I tell that I failed. and if I loose my job and have work gap on my resume how will it effect my job in future.
can you work in primary care or have your own practice if you are not board certified.

Yes u can have ur own practice..but the issue is some insurance companies are not paying if your not board certified . At least that's my understanding. I suspect if this is true, inevitably in the future all insurance companies will require board certification. Again I'm not sure about this but when I failed last year..that's what people were saying.

 

[Dr Kelso]

Passed on my second try. To those of you who failed this first time I completely understand how you feel. I will post more of my strategy but it was basically medstudy+mksap 16 questions+medstudy q bank+ awesome review (review class).

Ultimately the biggest difference is that I took the test very seriously and made it my priority for almost a whole year.

Anyone who failed and needs some advice or a listening ear feel free to PM me.

Medstudy DVD's or books? Or both?

 

[Dr Kelso]

For Medstudy books plus the flashcards&Q bank--around $700..look at their website to have the exact amount.. I did borrowed Medsrudy DVD b4 at medical library on my first try but did not pass...so I just focused on BOOKS, flashcards,&Q bank..I strongly believe that doing DVD is great for those people who have read the books already.. Just my thought...

Medstudy is reasonable$$$

Sounds about right the more I think about it.. I more of a reading learner than lecture learner anyways

I'm envisioning more grey hairs this year

 

[ABIM2013]

Medstudy DVD's or books? Or both?

Do both. I found that reading the book chapter first, and then watching the lectures for that sub-specialty was a great way to reinforce the material. The book is much more dense and the lectures are more 'broad strokes'. There are a lot of great pearls in the lectures, but I personally found them harder to focus on if I had not read the chapter first. They don't change that much year to year (how different is Duke's Criteria for bacterial endocarditis last year from this year!) and so picking up used lectures is a good way to save money. MedStudy Cardiology, ID, and rheumatology were particulalry good.

 

[Dr Kelso]

Do both. I found that reading the book chapter first, and then watching the lectures for that sub-specialty was a great way to reinforce the material. The book is much more dense and the lectures are more 'broad strokes'. There are a lot of great pearls in the lectures, but I personally found them harder to focus on if I had not read the chapter first. They don't change that much year to year (how different is Duke's Criteria for bacterial endocarditis last year from this year!) and so picking up used lectures is a good way to save money. MedStudy Cardiology, ID, and rheumatology were particulalry good.

Make sense, I definitely get more out of lecture after I read the text

 

[FastForward]

Couldn't agree with you more. The people (for the most part) that boast of passing with 2-3 weeks study using just a question bank to study tend to be good at gaming standardized tests, and pretty much they can skate by with minimum effort to scrape a pass. The worst thing that anyone can do is listen to their classmates who tell them only to use only a Qbank and to study a month before. It's a recipe for failure. It's also crass to brag about how easily you passed (not you personally) when it appears most of the people posting this year are looking for encouragement and advice having not passed.

I don't think that was the point and to say people scrape by after having spent three years in a residency and completing med school is an understatement. I had no time to study because I went into fellowship. I tried to study for two hours a day for three to four weeks before and solely used MKSAP. Went to this site to see what the pass margin to MKSAP would be and the level of anxiety here can be a bit contagious. I think the point I and others made is that most programs who have a high pass rate or 100% tend to select candidates that are good test takers and that will do well on these tests. If that's the case with your program I suggest you take solace in that if busy. It is a hard test, but passable even if doing MKSAP only (and not fully). Granted I kept up with studies to an extent during the program and fortunately test well.

 

[ResidentMD]

I don't think that was the point and to say people scrape by after having spent three years in a residency and completing med school is an understatement. I had no time to study because I went into fellowship. I tried to study for two hours a day for three to four weeks before and solely used MKSAP. Went to this site to see what the pass margin to MKSAP would be and the level of anxiety here can be a bit contagious. I think the point I and others made is that most programs who have a high pass rate or 100% tend to select candidates that are good test takers and that will do well on these tests. If that's the case with your program I suggest you take solace in that if busy. It is a hard test, but passable even if doing MKSAP only (and not fully). Granted I kept up with studies to an extent during the program and fortunately test well.

This is exactly what I meant by my post as well.

 

[DoctorDr]

Did someone receive their score report by snail mail?

 

[Simba2013]

Did someone receive their score report by snail mail?

nope by snail neither by regular mail

 

[gutonc]

Did someone receive their score report by snail mail?

It takes several weeks for it to show up.

 

[penndoc1]

So I took ABIM internal medicine for the first time last year. Was a new hospitalist, had already started work and was super stressed out about a lot of family issues. I did the MKSAP and MEdstudy questions, was averaging at 50% and failed.

This time I passed. I read a few medstudy books, but got bored with them. Then I did MKSAP 15 questions, Medstudy 2009Q, Then I did all of the New medstudy Question. Got Halfway through MSKAP 16 questions, and got tired. I would say what really helped me was Board Basics, everyone should get it, especially if you don't have a lot of time to study.

I took a lot of time to go on vacations and relaxed, was averaging in the 70s on the questions. I advise to do as many Qs as possible and try board basics

 

[Dr Kelso]

So I took ABIM internal medicine for the first time last year. Was a new hospitalist, had already started work and was super stressed out about a lot of family issues. I did the MKSAP and MEdstudy questions, was averaging at 50% and failed.

This time I passed. I read a few medstudy books, but got bored with them. Then I did MKSAP 15 questions, Medstudy 2009Q, Then I did all of the New medstudy Question. Got Halfway through MSKAP 16 questions, and got tired. I would say what really helped me was Board Basics, everyone should get it, especially if you don't have a lot of time to study.

I took a lot of time to go on vacations and relaxed, was averaging in the 70s on the questions. I advise to do as many Qs as possible and try board basics

Congrats on passing

Did you do anything in the way of USMLE questions ?

 

[Whitney]

Got my score report. Don't have the exact numbers with me, but about 85% of first-timers passed and something like 48% percent of retakers passed.

 

[Dr Kelso]

Can a future employer verify if you have an attempt on the boards?

 

[Thinker123]

Can a future employer verify if you have an attempt on the boards?

They keep those records. If i were you i would never lie. It's one thing not to mention it and they will not look it up once you pass. They would more likely ask you if they were interested...expecting you to be honest. Getting into lying is a whole different thing. For many, once you pass, they don't care. They just want to be able to say all their people are board certified.

 

[Simba2013]

Can a future employer verify if you have an attempt on the boards?

when you are filling hospital paper applications for credentialing most of them ask about board status and they specifically ask if you have failed the boards in the past and how many times have you sit for the board.

In top of that they make you sign a release form, so they can ask directly the board for a complete transcript of your records....
It would be a little supicious if you decline to sign the release form.....so long story short: They can verify so better to be honest always....and at the end what they want from you is to be certified thats all!

 

[Dr Kelso]

They keep those records. If i were you i would never lie. It's one thing not to mention it and they will not look it up once you pass. They would more likely ask you if they were interested...expecting you to be honest. Getting into lying is a whole different thing. For many, once you pass, they don't care. They just want to be able to say all their people are board certified.

Wasn't planning on lying. It does sounds like you have to release a waiver for them to see your results though.

 

[Instatewaiter]

I don't think you need 75% correct to pass and questions are weighted with easier questions counting more than harder questions. So one person could get 60% right and score drastically higher than another person who scored 60% right. Many say 70% is the cutoff.

My prep:
I took this during the first year of a busy cards fellowship.

I used only MKSAP questions (some of 15, almost all of 16) and took notes on them. I did very little reading but did read the endocrine, rheum and nephrology sections as well as heme-onc because I felt weak in those areas. Realistically, I don't think reading those MKSAP sections was that helpful. The weekend before I freaked out after reading this board and checked out board basics 1 from our library as well as first aid for IM. I perused first aid and read all of BB1. FIrst aid could be good but it's long. BB seems good but a difficult format.

With just doing MKSAP questions and taking notes on them, I did very well scoring near the 9th decile. As I said before, the cardiology and pulm questions were very straight forward. Anyone who went through a good amount of ICU time will be able to answer these questions. The cardiology including the audio questions had multiple clues. For instance, in all but one audio question, you didn't even need the audio to answer the question. I got all the cardiology questions right but am a cardiology fellow... The rhuem questions were somewhat random with tons of vasculitis questions. Nephrology was somewhat tough. The others were as expected

In the end, I think MKSAP questions and reviewing the anwers is all you need.

 

[ABIM2013]

You need between 69%-71% to pass the exam. Some questions are weighed more than others. There are 240 questions, but only 205 are used for the score. If you happened to rock the experimental questions but failed, it sucks.

Hope the following helps some of the folks that did not pass this year. It's my opinion only. I don't care what anyone thinks. If it helps you pass, I'm glad.

2012 ABIM
- Studied for 3.5-4 weeks using only MKSAP (70% average) and skimming BRB. Failed the exam by two questions.
- Raced through the exam, finishing each section 20-30 minutes ahead of schedule. I walked out of the test thinking it was not that hard, and was surprised that I did not pass.

2013 ABIM
- Studied from end of November 2012 around 1-1.5 hours on week nights (some, but not all--I was relaxed) going through all of the core medicine sections slowly (averaging 1 sub-specialty per month). I used the Medstudy books as the core, and translated the key points into my own recording (around 60 minutes worth per sub-specialty) and listened to that while running on weekday mornings.
- Watched the Medstudy 2010 videos along with each sub-specialty each month.
- Used the end of June and July 2013 to pretty much only do questions. Medstudy average about 79% (not representative of ABIM questions), Harrison's question book – don't recall exact score, but around 76%, USLMEWORLD Q bank average 60% (80% completed, 79th percentile).
- Tried to use Medstudy flashcards in last month but could not really get into them, so just re-read my own notes for important concepts that gave me trouble.
- I tried to focus on my three weakest sections in 2012 and did all the questions I could find.
- Took the test slowly, reading questions very carefully for ‘booby traps' and sneaky twists and finished each section on time.
- Did not study my strongest section from 2012 (general medicine) since the ABIM apparently guarantees the validity of the exam such that you'd get the same score the following year all things being equal (FWIW, I scored 2 questions less on general medicine compared to the the 2013 exam).
- Two of my three weakest sections in 2012 were my strongest sections in 2013 (GI and rheum) because I forced myself to learn all of the esoteric minutia that you almost never see in real life, and what I didn't see once in residency.
- Walked out of the exam feeling no different from 2012. I did not think it was that hard, but honestly did not know what to make of it as I felt there were so many off the wall questions that studying more would not make the slightest bit of difference.

What I learned:
- The ABIM exam (like the MCAT) is graded steeply. Literally 4 more correct questions this year increased my performance from the 1st to the 7th decile in that sub-specialty. I only scored an extra 16 points in 2013 and it shifted my score up several deciles to a comfortable pass.
- Don't rely on passing if you only use a question bank. Ignore your classmates who will boast they studied 12 hours total for the exam. They are usually good test takers regardless of circumstances, and likely scored a handful of questions more than you.
- No question bank I used is representative of the ABIM questions—definitely not MKSAP (nothing at all like ABIM), not Medstudy (too easy and straight-forward), not Harrison's (too esoteric), and not USMLEWORLD (REALLY hard, will shake your confidence).
- Limit your resources. Use one major company to prepare but know it well.
- It has become a game, and you pretty much need to use some kind of board prep. to pass. I'm sorry, but I still think many really good physicians are unable to pass the exam and some complete slackers whom I would't let care for my family can pass.

86% of the people taking the test passed this year (85% last year). 43% of repeaters passed this year (36% last year), and 76% of all test takers passed this year (74% last year).

Never think you're too good. Stay humble, and don't let your guard down. Scoring well on the USMLE series, rocking medicine in medical school, and becoming a competent physician in one of the arguably top medicine programs in the U.S. (my background) is sometimes not enough to pass the ABIM if you don't prepare. I lived on the floors, could take care of any patient, skipped conference often, rarely studied, and rarely went to grand rounds. I took the ‘service' part of residency too seriously, and overlooked the fact that I was a trainee. Still I was and still am a capable physician and I'm honestly no better a doctor than I was last year prior to being ‘board-certified'. I'm finishing a competitive sub-specialty, and likely will choose not to recertify in general medicine---as much as I love it.

I still don't really agree with the ABIM, but it's a moot point. The exam tests the very uncommon issues, odd presentations of common issues, and very narrow and often highly specific guidelines. You need to know it all. The exam is testing something. Accept it, respect the ABIM, and move on.

Good luck to anyone reading this. You'll get it next time if you prepare and you need to prepare.

 

[IMDoc607]

I got a 500 on the exam. Is that good? I know it doesn't matter but I'm just curious.


Thanks

 

[ABIM2013]

I got a 500 on the exam. Is that good? I know it doesn't matter but I'm just curious.


Thanks

500 is the mean.

 

[sukara]

See my previous post to hear my story but in short, I've been taking the boards for 6 years and I passed this time. Next year would have been my sitout year.

I learned on this forum that questions are weighted differently and it is absolutely true. I don't know what total percentage you need to get right, but even when I was passing all subjects in the 60s, I was not passing. I heard last year that you have to nail cardiology to pass and I think that that is absolutely true. I devoted a ton of time to studying the top three blueprint subjects (Cardiology, General Internal Medicine, and GI). I spent some time on Heme as well but just studied everything else some.

Overall, I didn't do great, but it was good enough to pass (399 where 370 is pass).

93% on cardiology 57%-76% on all of the other subjects. I was in the first decile for Heme, ID, and Onc. This tells you that the test must be weighted because I only aced Cards and Endo. I got three 1st decile, two 2nd decile, and three 3rd decile.

My advice, as I posted before, is study backwards off of the ABIM blueprints. If you don't know your Cardiology cold, you're never going to pass. Spend more time on the stuff that's weighted more on the test. There were 29 questions on Cards and 21 on Pulm. The rest were all in the teens so you know that they can't be as important if there are fewer questions. I was studying the areas I was weak on to raise my score but that never worked. It just up'd my score in those subjects to the level that the rest of my subjects were, but I still wasn't passing. I was getting the same score range (low 300s) year after year. I just didn't know how to leap forward. So, I took the advice of the people on forum and studied the weightier subjects more so that I knew I could get them right no matter what.

A note on Awesome Review- I did it and it did nothing to change my score even though everyone said that if I took it I would pass. I think that everyone learns differently and you should not walk away from this forum, especially if you are a bad test-taker like me, just listening to how everyone studied (MKSAP, Board Basics, MedStudy, Awesome Review, etc.) and just copy what they did thinking you will pass. You need to think about what works for you, start early, and get a partner.

Good luck to all of you that failed. You can do this. Start now and kick butt.