Official ABIM 2013 Thread

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Started studying early, at least one year. Preparation was key. Got through all of the MKSAP materials (all the different subspecialties esp. focusing on cardiology, pulmonary, GI, infectious disease, heme/onc). Did all of the MKSAP questions and read through all the explanations. Completed all of the USMLE World IM Boards questions and read through the explanations in detail. Skimmed through Medstudy books. Paid attention to landmark articles published in NEJM, as well as the accepted guidelines for management of common diseases (good to look up while you are on service e.g. guidelines on the management of COPD exacerbations, ACC/AHA guidelines on management of NSTEMI/USA or STEMI).
 
Hi,
Did anyone who lives in NY/NJ/PA get their score report? I haven't received it yet and was curious to know where people live who received them.
 
sukara said:
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.
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Congrats on passing...I bet you are on cloud nine! 🙂
 
Hey Guys, got my score in the mail yesterday (10/21). Live in NYC area. This was my second attempt, PASSED!....thank God. Score 420, Standardized Passing score 370.
First Attempt- 340 i think, it was 20 points below passing....
Study Plan during First Attempt: Watched MedStudy Lecture Videos and did MKSAP q-bank only.

Second Attempt: 420
Study Plan: Bought Medstudy Books (Did not read but used as a refrence), medstudy q-bank (did all the questions), Took Awesome Board Review (read Dr. Rahman's notes 2-3times).

I would say the key for me to pass this time was Dr. Rahman's notes, i think his lecture series and the notes are worth the money. He not only is a great teacher but also motivates people to actually Learn their Internal Medicine which we easily overlook following guidelines in real life patient management.

my percent correct jumped in all the subject matter significantly, Last year my percents were all in 50's-60's with 2 in 70's (mostly 1-2 decile)

This year my Percent correct went to 70's-80's in most of the subjects and deciles jumped in 4,5,6.

From my analysis, I am concluding that if I had studied on my own I would have not improved myself in all subjects. Not that I am trying to advertise Dr.Rahman's course but to those my colleagues who are planning to take it the second time....consider taking his course to clarify lot of concepts that you would otherwise would not be able to connect/clarify on your own. I would say take his course that is offered over 1-2 months (2 lectures per week)...so you have time to review things and read some concepts. But the last 3 weeks before the test I would say i was glued to my Chair (8-10 hours), i was reading his notes and doing medstudy q-bank the last 3 weeks. I could have easily scored much more higher if i had read his notes 2 more times.!!! READ HIS NOTES OVER-AND-OVER AGAIN!!! (atleast 5 times)and try to understand the concepts! and your score will be Awesome!!!😀

I can proudly say I am Board Certified!!!🙂
 
Well, I got my results.

I have been a silent "forum stalker" this year but I have to say that some of the advise I read here help me passing the boards.
This is my experience, and my experience only. I just realized that we all learn differently and what works for me might not work for you, so try to customize your study plan based on your needs, your strenghts and weaknesses.

First a little about myself.
Im an international graduate, pass all Steps on the first attempt with good scores. Went to a decent IM residency, then matched for fellowship 3 years later. I cant remember the results of my ITE, and after 2 years into fellowship I dont think they would be a good representation anyways.

Due to personnal issues and a busy schedule as a fellow I posponed taking the boards for 2 years (Big Mistake). I was about to graduate as a specialist and I was not board elegible in my speciality because I was not board certified in IM 🙁 .....it was scary and difficult to find a job at that time. During my interview process everybody asked about why I had not taken the boards yada yada yada and so on.....
I finally found a job that I like but "my credentials" were subject in me passing the board.....talking about pressure he!

So I found myself in my last 3 months of fellowship completly overwhelmed trying to decide what to do. I was doing inpatient consults and finalizing my research project to be presented in a National metting in late June...I was freaking out and with no time in my hands!
I started studying on/off in late May and June, doing question from MKSAP 15 and reading the explanations, but something was not working...

After I finish fellowship I decided to take time off and make the test my only main focus, my fsmily was very very very supportive with this 🙂.

So I made my plan, I had roughly 7 weeks to be ready, about 50 days or so. I study 13-14 hrs a day wohaa yes I did that and I did not develop blood clots lol.

Very important for me was to find a quite a comfortable place to study, I knew I couldnt study from home...so I went to a local library from a near community collegue and study from dawn to dusk with only 45 minutes break for meals.
During those 7 weeks I might had about 2-3 days off total....yes I know I was killing myself but I did not had a choice.

I was coming to this thread and check other people's strategies I read about people doing notes while studying, so I did that. At the beginning I did not know if that was going to be a good strategie because I never did that in the past with the steps, but I kept focus.

I read every single mksap book, cover to cover!! It took me about 3 days to read a subject and do "my notes", I ended 4 weeks later with 7 little notebooks....which were GOLD after that.
During those 4 weeks I did MKSAP 15 questions for 2 hours a day and I figured it out that most of the explanations were very smiliar to the actual text, so actually I was reading the material a second time without realizing it. So I finished all mksap books cover to cover by the end of the 4th week (30 days down, 20 more to go)

During my second stage I started reading again my notebooks...because the information was already well condensated I read a subject In 1 day and kept doing question but now USMLE world and MKSAP 16....I kept doing that for 10 days until I did my third run of all main subjects. During that time I was still getting not so good scores but much improved from the beginning. Because of that I decided to add MedStudy Books to the plan. These I did not read completly but rather read the topics I was weak.....
Finish Stage 2 with only 8 days left

My Third Stage I kept reading my notebooks, now 2 subjects per day...and kept doing questions. By now I think I cover the material for the 4th time, during this time I add Board Basic 2 which to me is a good resource at the beginning when because it serves as a road map of the things you need to focus....for me at this point of the game was kinda useless because to me it misses a lot of important information...I kept going back to my notebooks....

The last 3 days I kept doing questions most of the day and read one more time my notebooks for Cards, ID, and Hem-Onc which were my weakest subjects...By the end I was averaging 70-80% on Mksap and 65% on UW.
The last day people say you are not supposed to study, well I did, but only Derm. I basically took both MKSAP books and went to every single picture, and knowng the management of every single skin lesion and of course read my notebook....

During the test day I brough all my favorite food 🙂
I didnt rush through it (that was an advised from here) and did it slowly reading the questions and all options.
I finished every block with 5- 10 minutes left, so I used every single second and went back to the questions I was not sure and think and rethink the correct answer....I fight fight fight every single second of that test, thinking one question will make the difference in passing or failing!

The results:
I passed, with a good score, above the mean and more of my deciles in the 5-6-7.

In my case I assumed I did not know anything and start from scratch building "my foundation" and kept repeating and reading the material over and over again.
There were people telling me: " Just do question and you will pass", well, I tried that in May and it didn't worked for me, for me that was studying backwards and I felt all the information was spread out in my brain like a measy desk....what I did was to classifed all the information in my brain, put everything on "files inside my brain" in order for me to retrieve the information faster.....I did that in a structure and systematic way and that's what worked for me....

I wish you all the best of luck, study hard, take the test seriously, get to know yourself and identify what type of learner you are (visual, auditive, reader-writter, etc), On a side note during residency and fellowship I kept hearing about "how awesome" the Awesome review is, but I knew that was not the way my brain will get the information.....so don't do something just because people is telling you "it is the best thing ever" or because "everybody is doing it" and you have the fear if you don't do it also you might fail the test.....DO WHAT IS BEST FOR YOU!!
Don't feel discourage at any point, and keep going 🙂
If you have fail, next time around don't do the exact same thing, change your strategy , thats my advised...

xoxo

PD I hope you guys forgive me for the looong post 😉 I have been quite for so long that now I just regurgitate everything I have to say and share....GOOD LUCK!!
 
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sukara said:
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.
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Congrats on passing! Sounds like quite the journey

My score report lines up with what you are saying. I scored 75% in cards and 60% in gen med which put me in the 1st decile for both which is probably why I failed even though I scored in 5th decile in other subjects.

What question banks did you use and what % correct were you getting going into the test ?
 
Did you take your Recert exam yet? I am taking mine in April 2014..and started studying what you had suggested.
 
so what is this business about maintenance of certification? sounds like some scheme for the abim just to make more money
 
obiwan said:
so what is this business about maintenance of certification? sounds like some scheme for the abim just to make more money
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That is exactly what I think. They stop at nothing! We passed the exam..just let us go on our merry way for 10 years! Sheesh!
 
IMDoc2010 said:
still waiting for my score report............😕
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I'm waiting for my score report too, but other people have already gotten it. When should I be concerned? Will ABIM issue another one if it got lost in the mail?
 
Score: 450
Passing score needed: 370

My short story: Practicing for now 6 years. With group for 3 years and on my own for 3 years. Took the boards one year after residency and did not study other than a couple weeks before with no respect for the test.End result a fail... Had been putting it off. Decided time to pass.

Started studying on October 2012 slowly reading through all MKSAP 15 (too many years had elapsed since my training). After each segment completed the questions. Finished all text around February 2013 plus all MKSAP 15 questions (always reading answers right or wrong).

From all MKSAP questions I always read answers right or wrong. Checking out stuff that was important or did not know well.

From Feb 2013 did MKSAP 16 questions x 2 and MKSAP 15 x2...finishing 2 weeks before exam.

(Based on ideas from the 2012 forum) I read BB3 x1 slowly dictating it on my iphone/ipad with Bossjack podcast recording app (amazing background mixing capabilities..added mostly pink floyd and deadmau5 music to keep it sane). 45 hours of recording!.
Most of the time in Car, shower, chillin' at home I would listen to the music with of course my voice on it.

Hence I was pretty rusty, had failed once and mainly used MKSAP+BB3; pounding well the info.

I was nervous coming to this forum reading about all the many resources I did not use and especially after failing and being 6 years off on info.

To answer prior questions re: board certification needed for insurance payments private practice: Not needed,
I have practiced for 3 years on my own private practice without issues. Pressure on being board certified was a pride one. After passing nothing has changed I do not think being board certified defines me as a physician but the test has it's importance and needs to be taken seriously in order to pass (especially if you failed and its been a while since training).

Was it the best and most efficient approach?...probably not, however it worked for me...especially DeadMau5! 😀 lol!

I hope it will help someone out there and I wish you the best of luck. Do not get discouraged this test does not define who you are.

Would like to thank Thinker123 for mnemonics and great insight; they made a whole difference with statistics. Check the 2012 forum for great ideas.

Good Luck!🙂
 
I for one do not think it is an unfair exam ....I expect any internist to encounter most(>90%) of the scenarios asked in their clinical practices ......I had average - above average scores on steps/ITEs(nothing stellar) and studied on and off for 3 months on a very busy first year fellow's schedule .... I mostly used medstudy lectures(finished all ), BB(read twice) and finished almost 3/4th of qs on mksap 15 and usmle world and felt comfortable during the actual exam.....my final score is 590 ( btw 85-90th percentile)
 
I failed the boards by 7 points--got a 363 and passing score is 370. The way I calculate, I unfortunately was 2-3 questions away from passing. My sore luck. The ABIM score report states the scores are computed and likely not a mistake in calculating the score. They offer to manually score my exam, for a hefty price of $250. Has anyone paid this fee and had their score manually calculated? Has it changed your actual score?

I thought about paying to have my exam done, however, I feel the reality is that I am just an unlucky tester who got a couple of extra questions wrong and missed the passing score.

I ready MKSAP 16 once and did the questions once. Guess I wasn't as well prepared. Will definitely be taking the advice of many of the previous posts and not only re-do MKSAP 16 theory and questions, but also do them multiple times and read BB3.
 
Faiza123 said:
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.
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I'm in the same boat as you. Failed for the second time and honestly, I'm completely shocked. I thought I nailed it this time. I feel deflated and beat up. The thought of having to deal with this for another year is draining. My employers are waiting for me to tell them the results. I'm so embarrassed to have to tell them I failed it again. I'm also paranoid and feel that they probably already know just by looking it up on the abim website. Obviously I have to tell them.

The next step is figuring out what to do next. I'm retaking it next year but thinking about leaving my job before my contract is up so I can focus solely on this. And to be quite honest, it's embarrassing for me to have to be around my partners now a days with this weighing so heavily on my mind. Any advice on what to do next?
 
yobabydoc said:
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.
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Hospitalist27 said:
I'm in the same boat as you. Failed for the second time and honestly, I'm completely shocked. I thought I nailed it this time. I feel deflated and beat up. The thought of having to deal with this for another year is draining. My employers are waiting for me to tell them the results. I'm so embarrassed to have to tell them I failed it again. I'm also paranoid and feel that they probably already know just by looking it up on the abim website. Obviously I have to tell them.

The next step is figuring out what to do next. I'm retaking it next year but thinking about leaving my job before my contract is up so I can focus solely on this. And to be quite honest, it's embarrassing for me to have to be around my partners now a days with this weighing so heavily on my mind. Any advice on what to do next?
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I thought I would be beside myself, but at this point I don't have it in me.

My story: went to an okay residency and got into a top-notch fellowship program for my field. A few months before I finished residency, got named as a co-defendant in a malpractice lawsuit. In short: case was from my intern year, I did everything appropriately, worked up the patient, consulted the appropriate service, documented everything (you can never document enough, though). The patient was discharged, saw his PCP, and a few days after that had a bad incident.

The case took nearly the entirety of my fellowship to finally settle. During that time I spiraled into severe depression - usual symptoms started to manifest themselves including lack of energy, poor concentration, weight gain (I'm a stress eater), and eventually, persistent unrelenting suicidal ideation (not suicidality though, I eventually sought out help before it got to that point). My work suffered - I was inefficient; my presentations were not up to snuff; my head was never in the game regarding my research; my preparation for ABIM was clearly inadequate.

The case finally settled a few months before completion of my fellowship (nearly 3 years after being served), and my name was dropped from the suit; but to be honest, I still felt/feel broken by the process. This is somewhat worsened by my social situation - moving far away from family to an unfamiliar part of the country (few friends), single never married no kids, and generally lacking in social support.

I've now failed to pass three times. The first two, I only missed by 2 points and 1 point respectively. Somehow, I managed to do shockingly worse the third time. Not that I felt great walking out of the test center, but to go from nearly passing to outright not coming close just floors me. Maybe I should have recognized that I was never in any shape to take the ABIM these last few years, but I thought I could do it. I really did. Now I suppose I have to sit out a year. What in the world do people do for these two years? Besides study their asses off, obviously.

I've already tried interviewing for a brief moonlighting position, and of course my ABIM situation came up. I was honest, and the group was sympathetic, but it's been over a month and they didn't even feel the need to send a "no thank you" letter, much less an email. I can only imagine that it gets worse from here. I'm clearly damaged, and I can't hide it.

I don't know what is out there for someone like me who can't get past the boards. I used to think I was an okay doctor, but obviously my confidence is non-existent at this point. I admit that I even feel scared to be a doctor anymore. I've tried looking up options for non-board certified physicians, but I'm not finding anything.

I have no hope. I'm alone. I feel that I have no way out of this situation, and I've been permanently branded a loser.
 
ironchefmike said:
I thought I would be beside myself, but at this point I don't have it in me.

My story: went to an okay residency and got into a top-notch fellowship program for my field. A few months before I finished residency, got named as a co-defendant in a malpractice lawsuit. In short: case was from my intern year, I did everything appropriately, worked up the patient, consulted the appropriate service, documented everything (you can never document enough, though). The patient was discharged, saw his PCP, and a few days after that had a bad incident.

The case took nearly the entirety of my fellowship to finally settle. During that time I spiraled into severe depression - usual symptoms started to manifest themselves including lack of energy, poor concentration, weight gain (I'm a stress eater), and eventually, persistent unrelenting suicidal ideation (not suicidality though, I eventually sought out help before it got to that point). My work suffered - I was inefficient; my presentations were not up to snuff; my head was never in the game regarding my research; my preparation for ABIM was clearly inadequate.

The case finally settled a few months before completion of my fellowship (nearly 3 years after being served), and my name was dropped from the suit; but to be honest, I still felt/feel broken by the process. This is somewhat worsened by my social situation - moving far away from family to an unfamiliar part of the country (few friends), single never married no kids, and generally lacking in social support.

I've now failed to pass three times. The first two, I only missed by 2 points and 1 point respectively. Somehow, I managed to do shockingly worse the third time. Not that I felt great walking out of the test center, but to go from nearly passing to outright not coming close just floors me. Maybe I should have recognized that I was never in any shape to take the ABIM these last few years, but I thought I could do it. I really did. Now I suppose I have to sit out a year. What in the world do people do for these two years? Besides study their asses off, obviously.

I've already tried interviewing for a brief moonlighting position, and of course my ABIM situation came up. I was honest, and the group was sympathetic, but it's been over a month and they didn't even feel the need to send a "no thank you" letter, much less an email. I can only imagine that it gets worse from here. I'm clearly damaged, and I can't hide it.

I don't know what is out there for someone like me who can't get past the boards. I used to think I was an okay doctor, but obviously my confidence is non-existent at this point. I admit that I even feel scared to be a doctor anymore. I've tried looking up options for non-board certified physicians, but I'm not finding anything.

I have no hope. I'm alone. I feel that I have no way out of this situation, and I've been permanently branded a loser.
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First of all you are not a loser. You had a lot of stressors in your life that precluded you from focusing on the test. So cut yourself some slack. I do think you are depressed, and in order to start studying and also get a job, you need to get this taken care of. There is no shame in seeing a psychologist to talk everything out and maybe start medications. There are a lot of moonlighting positions that give you 7 years to pass. I know it seems like an arduous process but if you are not in the right state of mind, it's difficult to study. Also, it will be hard to present yourself in a good light at interviews. So please get some help as you have time now to do this. Also, i dont think you have to be board certified to be in private practice. Please let me know if I can help in any way
 
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DISCLAIMER: The following experience is not meant to be for everyone. This is not put here for the sake of bragging or pretending that this test is easy to do. I merely put my experience here for someone with similar situation as i am. I do not think that those that pass this test are necessarily good clinicians, Nor do i think that those that fail i are bad ones.

Now with that out of the way, i know that i am a good test taker. I spent most of my residency reading uptodate which i have on my ipad at all times, for every single case that comes through the door. I am not much of a text book reader, except for cardiology which i am both interested in and now starting a fellowship in.

For the three inservice exams, i have never studied, and my scores were always ~85 - 90 percentile. I basically did not have time to read at all until five days before the board. I obviously was freaked out beyond belief. After reading this board, i knew almost for certain that i would fail because everyone here has been reading for the past 2-6 months. Wha i did is the following. I looked at my inservice, found that my weakness was rheum, onc, heme and id. I opened mksap, finished the questions formall those subjects in 3 days reading the answers, and then i got medstudy 2010 video, and watched rheum and id lectures. I did not touch cardio. Then i opened board basics and basically went through the same subjects.

Day of test. Blocks had PLENTY of time. 70% questions were reasonably straight forward. I felt that there was a LOT of cardiology, and certainly there were 29 questions on my scorecard for cards, which helped me a lot. Some crazy one liner questions you can never prepare for, and a bunch of wierd gi questions.

When i went into the test, i really thought i will be clobbered, i got out feeling it was not too bad, but be mindfull of that feeling, as the test has a very narrow curve, and they expect you to answer around at least 70% of the questions correctly to pass.

I passed, got 570 and was on 9th decile. Aced oncology! 100% on that lol, my cramming worked. My experience is meant for those that are extremely strapped for time, hopefully are good test takers and have consistently scored well on inservice. If you fit into that category, use the inservice to your advantage and find your weaknesses on those. Hit those subjects hard, med study videos were an enormous help . Also the fact that i knew my cards questions without studying was an enormous advantage, so if you dont't feel confident with cards, make sure you cover it somehow before your test.
 
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Hi Ironchefmike,

Have you considered doing residency in another field, maybe psychiatry? Then you can just do the 3 yrs of psych and take the psych board exam. And forget about the stupid ABIM test forever.
 
Weinberg Angle said:
Hi Ironchefmike,

Have you considered doing residency in another field, maybe psychiatry? Then you can just do the 3 yrs of psych and take the psych board exam. And forget about the stupid ABIM test forever.
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i always thought that residency programs are supposed to protect you from crap like this from happening, i mean we are "in training"
 
Instatewaiter said:
How far from passing were.you with 65% correct?

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.
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I passed. I did a bit of everything - a mix of MKSAP 15 and 16, medstudy, went through some medstudy videos (but not all of them. some of the old ones are on youtube!). I think i'm on the 8th decile? I don't think the test was easy, I certainly had doubts coming out of the exam, but everyone I know who took it felt the same way. I don't think I studied a whole lot during residency, but did the fair share of reading up for morning report, presentations, uptodate on the go, etc.

On MKSAP i was scoring anywhere from 60-70%.
 
I took the exam in 2012 and scored in 340 range. Had just started fellowship and so when I got my score I was truly devastated. But I made a commitment and told myself I could and would pass the second time around. I had doubts all along, especially when I'd miss questions. The test ruined my confidence. It caused me to give up a lot of things. I started living unhealthy. I did things I shouldn't have. I was scared. It's sad that as health care professionals we allow this to happen to us!

I just took the exam again in Aug 2014 and scored in the 640 range. I scored in the 9th decile overall. Even after I took the exam the second time, I thought I failed. This exam is ridiculous. But I promised myself I would post how I studied if I were to pass. This site was the best resource I could use for advice and motivation (besides Youtube motivational videos).

Here's my advice. It worked for me...

1st. Don't allow yourself to live unhealthy. You will pass. Work hard and achieve what was meant to happen. It has been said that in the past for second time test takers the pass rate is close to 20-30%. That's low! However, does that statistic really matter?!?! Seriously. Look, isn't the pass rate for first-time takers in the 80%? High right? Did it apply to you if you failed? No! So neither does the other BS statistic!

2nd. Set a plan. You've heard this before. I started in November and continued until August. I worked hard. See my schedule below.

3rd. You will have setbacks. All mental. Don't give up! Rely on something to lift you up.

4th. Go in with confidence. Take your time on the exam. Don't rush. With each section, I had seconds left after each section the second time. First time around, I would finish with 10 min left. Take your time.

My schedule:
November through June:
Each month I'd cover 1-2 sections in Medstudy review book. I would read and highlight. I didn't try to memorize every concept, but I made sure I read every section. Then I would do the corresponding section's questions in MKSAP 14. In my car while driving, I listnened to ACP review and MKSAP audio. These were money because I drove a lot. I worked really hard. I had very little time off so I had to be efficient. During this time, I also went through all UWorld questions and Medstudy questions. These were important. UW questions were ridiculously difficult but good to do.

July and August:
This is where I focused on questions. I did numerous questions. I did Mayo questions (new question book came out for that), MKSAP 15, and most of MKSAP 16. I did some questions on Knowmedge (not similar to actual exam though). I read through all the answers. I didn't do any set of questions twice. Never made sense to do that, but your call. I figured I'd do more questions if I had time. I also did some Johns Hopkins questions -- went through about 40%.

Last two weeks, I did Medstudy notecards and went through Mayo board review DVDs. These were very helpful! All in all, I spent thousands of $! But I did not want to have to go through this BS again. Neither will you after you pass.

I have a ton of resources I would be willing to sell for a great price. Message me if interested.

Stay positive. It'll pass and so will you!
 
MikeErhmentraut said:
Wasn't planning on lying. It does sounds like you have to release a waiver for them to see your results though.
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True but if they ask you to submit something to verify, what can you do? I don't think any employer will do that. Really they care that you passed and if you haven't then they don't care the excuses etc. Something comforting is nobody will have access to that without your permission. If you start telling people you took the test and they look you up and it says "not certified" then they will draw their own conclusions. Ultimately, once you pass, nobody cares.
 
Weinberg Angle said:
Hi Ironchefmike,

Have you considered doing residency in another field, maybe psychiatry? Then you can just do the 3 yrs of psych and take the psych board exam. And forget about the stupid ABIM test forever.
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Having completed IM residency and a fellowship - and although it's hard right now given my ABIM history, I consider myself a solid clinician - I'd rather not consider another residency.
 
Hi all, I just wanted to help out whoever are planning on taking next year's boards and are possibly in a similar situation as I was this last year. So, I graduated from SGU, passed all my boards on the first attempt, went to an okay residency program, studied very minimally during residency, mostly just for USMLE Step III and my Canadian MCCEE, QEI and QEII (Canadian exams). I never studied for inservice, always thought they were very difficult exams mostly just because of the fact that the exam was always right after a night shift or after working an 80 hour week (etc), so I always did horribly on them. I think I always ended up in the 10-20th percentile on the exam, every year. When it came to Jan 2013 I knew I had to start studying, but I was "checked out," so I basically never studied until June, 2013 when I figured it was really time to study for the ABIM board exam. Then, I didn't study at all in June, I actually only started in July, the day after residency ended (however I did take the Awesome Review course in the first week of June and really tried to pay attention and write down everything Rahman said). Anyway, I tried getting myself to study the way I used to for Steps 1 and 2, when I used to lock myself in a room and just study all the time, but honestly it is so incredibly hard after finishing residency to get yourself that motivated, so I probably studied about 6-8 hours or less per day, although in the last two weeks before the exam more like 14 hours a day. Again, lots of distractions after residency, took a few days break, moving, etc, not even close to as focused as I would have liked to be.

My plan of attack was spend a couple days reading each subject from Rahman's notes (taking active notes), then doing 80% of the MKSAP (15) from that section on the next day (also taking notes), then moving on to the next subject, so on and so forth. After completing one round of each subject, I re-read Rahman's notes, and did what I call memorize notes, basically taking notes on my notes and from the stuff I forgot from Rahman notes and MKSAP info so that the info was summarized onto about 3 double sided pages or less, to review the last days before the exam. This is how I've always studied in medicine, and I've never failed any exam.

There was a point of panic prior to the exam and I did push my exam date back a week. Then the last few days before the exam I continued to follow my plan of attack and try and memorize my "memorize notes," and do a quick re-read of all of Rahman's notes. Overall I probably read over those notes 5 times, and completed 80-85% of MKSAP (ran out of time before the exam).

I have not received my score report yet, but all I can tell you is that I PASSED, and I only studied 1.5 months (and never during residency). The success is all attributed to Rahman's notes, absolutlely amazing and focused. Anything in those notes are fair game, including minute details that you wouldnt think are important. And the most important thing is to take that course extremely seriously. MKSAP really helped to be able to answer questions quickly and understand the format of the exam.

I hope I was able to help at least one person out with this information. Now back to work as a Board Certified Hospitalist (which is awesome).
 
ironchefmike said:
Having completed IM residency and a fellowship - and although it's hard right now given my ABIM history, I consider myself a solid clinician - I'd rather not consider another residency.
Click to expand...

Don't give up. hang in there. Worse comes to worse you can do research while you study but if you do that. make sure to keep doing some locums to keep up your clinical skills/contact. If you use a partner, BB3, videos, Doing all MKSAP questions at least twice, a solid schedule and try to make it fun, you'll pass for sure.
 
I just wanted to thank you guys again. This is why I have popped in at times to offer encouragement. This forum helped me so much. I was freaked out and had no confidence until I ran into this forum. I got great advice, found a partner, saw there were others who had been through the failure feeling and was able to conquer that beast (last year). Really, it helps to be mentally ready to go at it and this board helped. I wish I had found this sooner. Those of you who struggled, don't give up hope!
 
Azriel2 said:
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?
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I would love to have a study partner. Inbox me please. thanks.
 
MikeErhmentraut said:
Congrats on passing! Sounds like quite the journey

My score report lines up with what you are saying. I scored 75% in cards and 60% in gen med which put me in the 1st decile for both which is probably why I failed even though I scored in 5th decile in other subjects.

What question banks did you use and what % correct were you getting going into the test ?
Click to expand...

I only used MKSAP 16. I had memorized 15. I wanted to stay focused on the material. My previous problem was spending too much time on questions and it not changing my score so stuck with just MKSAP 16. I was getting 50-60% the first time through. Then a minimum of 70% on all. Only hit cards, general im, and GI a 3rd time and got 80% or better. Good luck.
 
So I'm confused- what exactly is the importance of ABIM other than passing?

I'm just a med student but how is this of any importance once you're done training? Do employers care about your score or that you passed?
 
sanj238 said:
So I'm confused- what exactly is the importance of ABIM other than passing?

I'm just a med student but how is this of any importance once you're done training? Do employers care about your score or that you passed?
Click to expand...

You only need to pass. Nobody cares about your score. In theory you don't even need to take it since in most states you will be able to get your medical license after passing USMLE steps 1, 2, 3. In practice however if you want to get credentialed at most hospitals they require you to be "board-certified" so you may not be able to get certain jobs. Also, you can't take your subspecialty board exams - ie GI, Cards, Heme-Onc etc, unless you pass the Internal Medicine board exams. Personally I think the test is just a money-making thing for the ABIM and doesn't really test competence for everyday medicine stuff since they still focus too much on minutiae and esoteric things. But it is what it is at this time so you just sudy hard for it, pass and move on.
 
MikeErhmentraut said:
Medstudy video or Pass Machine videos? Which are better ?
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If you will use Medstudy IM core books you could use either Medstudy video or PASS VIDEO...On my first exam which I did NOT pass, I have used Medstudy video and MKSAP books& MKSAP Q&A....I did not use Medstudy corebooks.... In the second time around i passed after I used MEDSTUDY corebooks and PASS videos as an alternative to the MEDSTUDY video...PASS Video is great too as I could view the videos by smartphone or iPad or PC...there is guarantee also that if you did not pass using PASS videos you can enroll free the next time around... Try to look at YouTube for any Medstudy or PASS video clips ...this is just my experience... Thinker 123 used also PASS videos before passing ABIM..
 
So...not to derail the thread but I was wondering if anybody had a used copy of BB3 that they are willing to sell. PM me if so. Thanks!
 
m5dream said:
Hello everyone,

I am a new member, but I have been reading through this website for some time. I wanted to let you know of my strategy for the ABIM MOC exam. As some of you may know, the April MOC exam results have been released. Fortunately, I was able to pass with the following plan.

1. Kaplan Medical Master The Boards: Internal Medicine by Conrad Fischer
This is a great and concise book. This book is a easy read, but filled with great information. The book appears to be too thin and lacking in information. However, this book covered many questions that were in the exam. Some VERY directly and some indirectly. Also, by learning the topics in the book, I was able to eliminate several answers, and thus have a better chance of guessing the right answer. I read it twice.

There is a newer version of the book just released. I might buy it just to do some more learning! It was actually enjoyable to read it! FYI, I did not read the First Aid book or the Board Basic Book, though I did skim through it. I'm sure they are both good, but I think the Kaplan series is much leaner and more to the point.


2. Kaplan Medical: Internal Medicine Question Book
This basically supplements the above book. Do the questions after you read the above book. Then, read the main book. That is, read the Kaplan text book, do the question book, then Kaplan text book again.

3. MKSAP questions. Do as many as you can. Best way to get practice doing it on line.

4. Don't worry about abbreviations or normal values. It is all given in the question! Don't even have to look it up.


I hope this helps some one with limited time. It is hard enough to work and raise a family! I believe the above plan can help, if you focus really and know the material in the book. It will be impossible to cover all subjects, so know just a few really well.


Thanks.
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Hello, I am a new member as well. I have had several unsuccessful attempts at passing the abim exam. I have tried many different books and reviews, with the awesome board review getting me the closest to passing. Do you think that "Master the "Boards" would be good for initial certification study?
 
Boardcertifiedinmyheart said:
Hello, I am a new member as well. I have had several unsuccessful attempts at passing the abim exam. I have tried many different books and reviews, with the awesome board review getting me the closest to passing. Do you think that "Master the "Boards" would be good for initial certification study?
Click to expand...
So sorry to hear that you have had the unsuccessful attempts. I didn't use Master the Boards when I took the exam but I'm not sure how different it is from the other books. I felt that Awesome Board Review Course was high-yield but perhaps you need a question bank to supplement the material. There's obviously MKSAP 15 (and now 16), which is very popular. I heard UWorld has one out as well. I imagine you've tried these out. Personally, although the content is very authoritative (esp MKSAP), the issue I had with them is that they are too text heavy. I struggle to digest and fail to retain large amounts of text. I discovered late in my residency (after suffering for years on exams) that I'm an audio-visual learner. As a result, I decided to use Knowmedge, which has a narrated, animated explanation for each of their questions. They had about 800 questions when I used it this summer but I remember them increasing the number of questions even during my 3-month subscription so it may be more now. They didn't replicate the look of the exam ( a la UWorld) but I personally didn't think I needed to see what the exam looks like. Not sure if others here have tried it out (since they're fairly new). I passed and overall, I'd recommend giving it a chance. I wish you all the best.
 
I am looking for a study partner for the 2014 abim exam. If you are interested, please inbox me!!
 
ABIM MD said:
So sorry to hear that you have had the unsuccessful attempts. I didn't use Master the Boards when I took the exam but I'm not sure how different it is from the other books. I felt that Awesome Board Review Course was high-yield but perhaps you need a question bank to supplement the material. There's obviously MKSAP 15 (and now 16), which is very popular. I heard UWorld has one out as well. I imagine you've tried these out. Personally, although the content is very authoritative (esp MKSAP), the issue I had with them is that they are too text heavy. I struggle to digest and fail to retain large amounts of text. I discovered late in my residency (after suffering for years on exams) that I'm an audio-visual learner. As a result, I decided to use Knowmedge, which has a narrated, animated explanation for each of their questions. They had about 800 questions when I used it this summer but I remember them increasing the number of questions even during my 3-month subscription so it may be more now. They didn't replicate the look of the exam ( a la UWorld) but I personally didn't think I needed to see what the exam looks like. Not sure if others here have tried it out (since they're fairly new). I passed and overall, I'd recommend giving it a chance. I wish you all the best.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for your help. I am an audio-visual learner as well so I will check out Knowmedge. I am also wondering if The Pass Machine online course would be a good choice for me. I have read some good reports about it, esp. for a-v learners
 
I've seen Pass Machine's ads in medical journals but haven't tried it myself. Sorry I wasn't able to be more helpful.
 
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