Official ABIM 2014 thread

[ABIM MD]

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@CorlSt That's awesome! Like I said, I started looking at MKSAP 16 recently even after taking the exam. Excellent resource for both the ABIM exam and clinical practice. Best of luck to you as well as all the others on this message board. I sure wish I had used this message board when I was studying for my exam.

 

[love2014]

Great! I just started MKSAP Cards too. Will be using Medstudy to distill my readings as well. Goal to finish 1x review of MKSAP Cards in 1.5-2 weeks (I have a radiology elective). We can do this! 🙂

 

[ABIM MD]

@love2014 I actually haven't heard of the MKSAP cards. Where did you get those? When I studied for my exam, I was really hoping to have a question bank that had an accompanying flashcard--digital or paper--feature. Couldn't find one. I know some folks input questions on quizlet but I wished I had an all-in-one platform with the pre-made flashcards.

 

[love2014]

Oh, there are no MKSAP cards; I meant cardiology 🙂 haha. Sorry. However, I've been using MKSAP 16 APP for android and just installed Board Basics 3 on my droid too; they're super for the lull moments during the day when I can answer few questions.

 

[ABIM MD]

I definitely agree. Board Basics is especially good. Not sure if you guys are on Twitter but another nice resource to browse when waiting during lull moments is the Twitter feed for @knowmedge . I found that to be a good resource for high-yield concepts and nice discussion with our peers. They do a couple flashcard style questions during the day and then about 10 of them every Sunday. They started a few months after I started studying. Wish I had the resource earlier.

 

[CorlSt]

@ABIM MD Thanks! Will check Knowmedge on twitter.

@love2014 Great...that's how I'm starting as well. I was planning on doing 2-3 weeks on each topic and I'm starting with "Cards" as well 😉 Also, are you using MedStudy for videos? Been thinking about it myself but I'd like to hear some reviews on whether it's helpful.

I'm also still not sure what question bank(s) to go with. Everyone seems to go with MKSAP but since I got the MKSAP books I was thinking perhaps a different qbank.

 

[CorlSt]

@ABIM MD Knowmedge looks great - I hadn't heard about them but really like their slides (pictures) on twitter. What do you think about their qbank vs. medstudy?

Where is everyone? Have most people not started studying yet? It's dead on this thread.

 

[ABIM MD]

@CorlSt I tried MedStudy for a bit. Their videos are nice but they weren't integrated into the question bank. Knowmedge's qbank is very well integrated so I do a question and then (if I'm in practice mode) view the video explanation right then and there.

 

[love2014]

@ABIM MD Thanks! Will check Knowmedge on twitter.

@love2014 Great...that's how I'm starting as well. I was planning on doing 2-3 weeks on each topic and I'm starting with "Cards" as well 😉 Also, are you using MedStudy for videos? Been thinking about it myself but I'd like to hear some reviews on whether it's helpful.

I'm also still not sure what question bank(s) to go with. Everyone seems to go with MKSAP but since I got the MKSAP books I was thinking perhaps a different qbank.

Hey! I had a busy weekend so I just got around to reading this site; I'm 65% through MKSAP cardiology questions and I bought Knowmedge bc I liked the free trial 20 questions. It's audio-visual form of learning and also, for those of you interested, Knowmedge is having a $50 discount with the code: Upgrade

I need to review MKSAP then likely will add Medstudy to supplement my knowledge. Those two are time and time again proven to help. Knowmedge is relatively new with little reviews on whether it works or not. I just spent $200 on it so we'll see! I really like that it addresses concepts in a succinct manner.

@CorlSt, MKSAP qbank is a must, BTW. (not for the format but concept/knowledge)
Let's try to get through MKSAP cardiology book once by this weekend! 🙂 I'm beginning Pulm afterwards.

 

[love2014]

Guess what? I went by 2010 ABIM forum and found a guy who gave me this awesome cardiac murmur flowsheet! 🙂 I wanted to share them with you guys.
Here is another hint given by another awesome member to supplement the chart below:

1) Persistently split and fixed split are essentially the same thing. They probably won't say "fixed split" on the real thing
2) Fixed split S2 is not necessarily serious. An old guy with a RBBB, this is an expected finding. He'll probably have an S4 as well from his hypertension.
3) S4 is found in anything that thickens the ventricle (hypertension and those on this list). Because of this an S4 with a murmur is not a worrisome finding. (ie hypertension with any murmur)
4) Valsava increases HoCM. If they tell you the murmur increases with valsalva, it's probably HoCM and it will probably be a young guy
5) S3 isn't a normal finding in dilated cardiomyopathy. You see it when they are in heart failure. You diurese them and it goes away. Also seen normally in pregnancy and adolescence
6) TR and VSD are both found at the sternal border
7) Don't forget about the changes to JVP with different murmurs especially large V waves with TR.

 

[chubbycheeks1]

Hey guys, thanks for all the great advice. I've started MKSAP 16 with the questions, daunting but trying to stay on schedule and get the material down 😳).
I wanted to know about a live course...is this something most people do? I see people mention Awesome Review here--could you share the web address? (I googled it, but got a few similar-sounding hits, wasn't sure which was the official one...)

 

[defrunner]

I agree with the above posters in focusing attention on only a few resources, knowing them cold (just like with any subject from med school). I personally believe in a great deal of practice, as just reviewing everything without reinforcement seems pointless to me. Obviously, we want to be as efficient as possible, and to that end, I have recently used a fairly new Q-bank, called boardvitals.com, and thought that it was very good. It has up-to-date ABIM information in the questions and explanations, and is easy to navigate. It also has a large volume of questions, but not so much that you can't repeat them, and has a great deal of media.

A review course of some sort would be a good idea if there is trouble sticking to a course, but in general, I like having a few high-yield resources and then practicing, practicing, practicing. I'm also very OK with taking a day off here and there, as it's better to be mentally refreshed than to beat myself up.

Good luck to everyone!

 

[ABIM MD]

Hey guys, thanks for all the great advice. I've started MKSAP 16 with the questions, daunting but trying to stay on schedule and get the material down 😳).
I wanted to know about a live course...is this something most people do? I see people mention Awesome Review here--could you share the web address? (I googled it, but got a few similar-sounding hits, wasn't sure which was the official one...)

It's tutormd.com

 

[ABIM MD]

Nice flowchart, @love2014 . I have a couple I got from Knowmedge (I was surprised they let you download pdf versions of the slides). Here's one of them that doesn't go into as much detail as the flowchart above but I found it really

high-yield. Hope it helps you guys like it helped me.

 

[CorlSt]

Wow...thanks!!! @love2014 @ABIM MD Really appreciate all the support and flowcharts now! 🙂

I actually signed up for Knowmedge over the weekend! Love it so far! Using it and MKSAP books and going through Cardiology these days.

@chubbycheeks1 Awesome Review is Habeeb Rahman's course. Really popular. A few people I know took it last year and highly recommended it. They said if you can make it for it... it's a must! His website is tutormd.com

 

[hitbykamikaze]

Hi everybody! There are MCQ's started by medstudy online.Anybody started doing them?

 

[CorlSt]

Hi @hitbykamikaze! I was debating whether to get MedStudy or Knowmedge. Both looked good but I ended up choosing Knowmedge cause of the videos. Honestly, love it so far! But do share your experience if you get MedStudy. I don't think you can ever do enough questions! I have been hesitant on it but after I get through the Knowmedge questions, I may also get MKSAP questions as well.

@love2014 Missed your last message... you're on! Cardiology by the end of the weekend... I'm going to try to get through the MKSAP Cardiology and the Knowmedge Cardiology questions. If I can do that, I'll be pretty happy. Also, curious - are you getting both the MKSAP books and MedStudy books?

 

[hitbykamikaze]

Hi @hitbykamikaze! I was debating whether to get MedStudy or Knowmedge. Both looked good but I ended up choosing Knowmedge cause of the videos. Honestly, love it so far! But do share your experience if you get MedStudy. I don't think you can ever do enough questions! I have been hesitant on it but after I get through the Knowmedge questions, I may also get MKSAP questions as well.

@love2014 Missed your last message... you're on! Cardiology by the end of the weekend... I'm going to try to get through the MKSAP Cardiology and the Knowmedge Cardiology questions. If I can do that, I'll be pretty happy. Also, curious - are you getting both the MKSAP books and MedStudy books?

I bought Medstudy questions and finishing through them.Giving me confidence. Dont know why- but I get the feeling that these are relatively easy questions.I am tempted by Knowmedge though.But, I cant do more than I can chew.I will do Medstudy and Mksap for now.

 

[CorlSt]

@hitbykamikaze If you're already through all those questions, that's great!! (Assume you're taking the initial certification in August). I had heard a lot of positive things about the MedStudy books but negative reviews about their qbank. Another reason I went with Knowmedge. But honestly... I don't know either. I know I'm learning a lot through Knowmedge - and I've just had it a few days. But it's a relatively new qbank as others have mentioned. So no guarantee either.

I'll have to see how I progress on all of this. I think I may get the MKSAP questions once I complete Knowmedge. I'm not sure I'll be able to do more after that but if I do have time, then perhaps MedStudy as well.

Good Luck... and keep posting. My schedule doesn't permit me to have a study partner but it's nice to have the SDN support group as a study partner! 🙂

 

[hitbykamikaze]

@hitbykamikaze If you're already through all those questions, that's great!! (Assume you're taking the initial certification in August). I had heard a lot of positive things about the MedStudy books but negative reviews about their qbank. Another reason I went with Knowmedge. But honestly... I don't know either. I know I'm learning a lot through Knowmedge - and I've just had it a few days. But it's a relatively new qbank as others have mentioned. So no guarantee either.

I'll have to see how I progress on all of this. I think I may get the MKSAP questions once I complete Knowmedge. I'm not sure I'll be able to do more after that but if I do have time, then perhaps MedStudy as well.

Good Luck... and keep posting. My schedule doesn't permit me to have a study partner but it's nice to have the SDN support group as a study partner! 🙂

@CorlSt Its awesome to keep updating in the thread. Will keep you updated.

 

[ABIM MD]

Let me know if I can be of any assistance. I certainly didn't set any records but I did pass comfortably.

 

[Boardcertifiedinmyheart]

Hello, have you heard of or tried medcert.com for ABIM board review?

 

[CorlSt]

Hi @ABIM MD - Thanks for the offer! I bought MKSAP 16 but a couple people at my residency have asked me about using MKSAP 15. I saw your earlier post that you had both MKSAP 15 and MKSAP 16. Do you think there is much of a difference?

 

[ABIM MD]

Hi @CorlSt - If you asked me this question in summer 2013, I would say that MKSAP 15 is good enough. Now that it's been about 1 1/2 years since MKSAP 16 was released, I would definitely go for MKSAP 16. The user interface is much better than before. You can actually do the questions in an exam mode. As I've gone through more and more of MKSAP 16 I see that there have been some content updates. Interestingly, even after MKSAP 16 was released, we've already seen some guidelines (e.g. blood pressure, cholesterol) change. I think MKSAP 15 would be too far removed at this point.

 

[CorlSt]

@ABIM MD Thank you! I appreciate it. I think people will still be fine with MKSAP 15 but if they can get MKSAP 16 (even if it costs a little more), they should.

I got done with the MKSAP cardiology section and cardiology knowmedge questions. Glad it's only february - will need to go through those again!

On a side note.. my Seahawks are Superbowl Champs!!! 😀 Hoping the luck carries over to the board exam!

 

[Momma_MD]

Looking for a study partner. I am an attending physician working full time and mother of 3 children. Hoping to find a study partner to keep me on track. I'm on the west coast. Willing to put In time 2-3 times a week. Message me if you are interested!

 

[imboards72014]

Hi,

I am looking for study partner for my boards. Email me at [email protected].
thx

 

[imboards72014]

Hi ,

I am looking for study partner.

Please reply- [email protected]

Thx

 

[jchi]

hi y'all. was wondering if someone would like to study together. from chicago. have week on week off schedule. failed the test the first time by a couple points....🙁

was super down about it, and its hard to get back into this. anyways, dont want to bore u with a sob story. just need to take this test and put it in the ground. if anyone wants to study w/ me or skype or whatever, im all ears. will be coming back to the site to get some motivation. good luck everyone

 

[CorlSt]

Hi @jchi - looks like you've come to the right place. A few others looking for study partners. I wish I could make the time for it.... but with my schedule right now, it's very difficult.

Really sorry to hear about your struggle with the exam the first time around. If you don't mind me asking - what do you think caused the struggle? Lack of preparation? Starting prep too late? Something else? I'm also curious what you would do differently if you had to do it over. I think all of us would benefit from your insights.

I'm happy that I've started (compared to some of my colleagues) but still would benefit from some insight from others who have gone through this.

Thanks - and I wish you all the best this time around!! 🙂 I do find reading other people's posts to be motivational for me.... so I'll keep posting as well.

 

[chubbycheeks1]

It's tutormd.com

Thanks so much! How do yall think this compares to courses at CCF or MGH? I asked my PD and he referenced these as "well reputable," but honestly I'm just looking for one that will present the material clearly and hit key points. Thoughts?

 

[ABIM MD]

Thanks so much! How do yall think this compares to courses at CCF or MGH? I asked my PD and he referenced these as "well reputable," but honestly I'm just looking for one that will present the material clearly and hit key points. Thoughts?

I haven't taken those courses but I've heard from some folks who have that they tend to incorporate material that's not really tested. It's kind of like our med school professors giving lectures that also feature their active research. I don't think there's anything wrong with that and in fact it's really important at that level of our med school education. If you want the highest yield info for the Boards however, I'd probably go with tutormd.com or another of the non university-based courses. Again, I haven't tried those myself . Hope that helps.

 

[CorlSt]

I haven't taken those courses but I've heard from some folks who have that they tend to incorporate material that's not really tested. It's kind of like our med school professors giving lectures that also feature their active research. I don't think there's anything wrong with that and in fact it's really important at that level of our med school education. If you want the highest yield info for the Boards however, I'd probably go with tutormd.com or another of the non university-based courses. Again, I haven't tried those myself . Hope that helps.

I've heard similar about the "university-based" courses. I am still debating if I'll go to a live course or not.....still trying to work out my schedule. Here's a nice list of all the options available.... not an in-depth review of each but mostly just schedule and cost information - http://knowmedge.com/blog/internal-medicine-board-review-courses

Hope everyone is doing well... last week was slow on the study front for me. I'm working on Endocrinology now.

 

[love2014]

Hi guys,
I've been falling behind lately (just signed my first contract a week ago and was in a party mode x 1 week). So i'm here, back to focus and get things done.
@CorlSt - I'm done with MKSAP Cards questions, have been taking notes on almost all questions but then realized I've been neglecting the reading portion of it.
The truth was that I couldn't be as efficient as I wanted to be - as in, I didn't read the chapters along with doing questions - so now I'm a little behind. I'm doing GI right now. Goal is to finish all MKSAP GI questions by this weekend, while getting the reading down. Keep me in check! We can do this!

 

[ABIM MD]

Hi guys,
I've been falling behind lately (just signed my first contract a week ago and was in a party mode x 1 week). So i'm here, back to focus and get things done.
@CorlSt - I'm done with MKSAP Cards questions, have been taking notes on almost all questions but then realized I've been neglecting the reading portion of it.
The truth was that I couldn't be as efficient as I wanted to be - as in, I didn't read the chapters along with doing questions - so now I'm a little behind. I'm doing GI right now. Goal is to finish all MKSAP GI questions by this weekend, while getting the reading down. Keep me in check! We can do this!

Congrats on signing the contract @love2014 Sounds like you had a good time! Glad to hear you're in study mode now. One of the topics in GI that always got me confused was hepatitis B serology. You're probably better at it than I am but in case you (or anyone else) would benefit, here's a slide from Knowmedge. Don't think it's any copyright issue since I was able to download the slide using their print feature when I had the subscription.

 

[CorlSt]

Hi guys,
I've been falling behind lately (just signed my first contract a week ago and was in a party mode x 1 week). So i'm here, back to focus and get things done.
@CorlSt - I'm done with MKSAP Cards questions, have been taking notes on almost all questions but then realized I've been neglecting the reading portion of it.
The truth was that I couldn't be as efficient as I wanted to be - as in, I didn't read the chapters along with doing questions - so now I'm a little behind. I'm doing GI right now. Goal is to finish all MKSAP GI questions by this weekend, while getting the reading down. Keep me in check! We can do this!

@love2014 Congrats!!! That's a big reason to Party! 😉

It's alright... I fell behind a week as well. I know what you mean about trying to go through all the questions / reading and make sure you're covering everything. There's definitely a lot to go through.

Looks like we're both through Cards - now on to the next subject... we'll plug away and get this done! 🙂

@ABIM MD - Sweet slide... thanks!! I'll be moving on to Gastro next!

 

[tako99]

Hey everyone, hope the studies are coming along well! I'm already set with my written materials & Qbank, but I'm planning to purchase a video course (streaming/DVD) as a supplement. There are quite a few out there, but I've narrowed it down to a few with the most recently updated materials, etc. I was wondering if anyone has any feedback or experience with any of the following:

Pass Machine
Med Study
Brigham Intensive Review
ACP IM Board Review

I like that Pass Machine and ACP offer guarantees, but I hope I don't have to use them. I also like that Pass Machine & ACP appear to be the most concise, but I don't mind longer if the info is useful. Price-wise, I don't like that Med Study is $300-400 more than the others, as I don't see a huge difference in the quality of the material. Anyway, I would really appreciate some insight from people who have already taken ABIM and from people who are currently using any of these courses. Thanks in advance!

 

[CorlSt]

@tako99 Wish I could help but have not tried any of those. So far I have just been just using MKSAP books and the Knowmedge qbank. Thought about getting a video course but will probably go to a live course instead. If/When you get the video course, would love to hear your experience with any of them! (Separately... the prices on some of these video courses are ridiculous!)

Good luck... and stay in touch!

 

[PHD_2007]

Question about Board Review Courses..... Which is better Awesome Review or Cleveland Clinic?

 

[joedoc123]

It seems like from multiple discussions and reviewing forums from as back as 2011 everybody has praised the awesome review. Don't know much about cleveland clinic course.

 

[PHD_2007]

Anyone have information on Pass Machine/Awesome Review/ Cleveland Clinic? I heard that Pass Machine was also really good.

 

[MDApplicant2005]

I am thinking about signing up for the Kaplan Internal Medicine Online Board Review Course with Conrad Fischer. Has anyone done this course or heard anything about it?

Thanks!

 

[CorlSt]

Good questions. Wish I could help.

I'm now done with three subjects - Cards, Endo, and Gastro. Will be studying Infectious Disease this week. Not looking forward to this topic. Still just reading MKSAP and doing Knowmedge questions. Overall, feeling okay about the pace so far but I'll definitely need to review all this one more time before the exam.

Can't believe we're in March already...Hope everyone's prep is going well!

 

[Deferoxamine]

I bit the bullet and recently bought MKSAP16, including the books. Why the books? Because I know if I buy the physical books, I'll be forced to actually use them... and well. I had a strategy of lots of reading throughout med school, and it served me very well.

Why bother with the reading at all? Truth is I have not had much time to read during residency outside of work. Most of my learning/reading has been on-the-job. My time has been divided between work and leisure (because I didn't have much time for the latter during medical school). It appears the people who fail this thing are often the people who have aced everything else and slack off before the exam because they assume they'll be ok.

About halfway through my weakest subject, Cardiology.

 

[Dr Kelso]

I just got through the Kaplan lectures.. Finished up MKSAP Cards questions averaged around 75%.. Onto to General Med!

 

[love2014]

quick update: did cards questions and wasted time doing a thorough run through of all questions by taking tedious notes. I'm on Gen IM MKSAP questions - about to finish them but feeling ..super behind. Those of you whose study is going well: What is your routine and key materials? I'm thinking of pushing my test date back a week to make up for the lost time.

 

[joedoc123]

Hello everyone

I have done med study videos from 2010 and doing mksap questions now. Scoring 50 to 60 percent in them. Any recommendations on how to improve e these scores. I do plan to attend a live video course also close to exam. Any comments on the mksap scores

 

[Circa]

Hello,
I have failed the boards several times. I plan to take it again in 2014. I have never had a study partner but I keep reading over and over in the ABIM threads that it is a must. If there is someone looking for a study partner, please contact me.
Thanks

Hi Did you find a study partner? I am looking for one for the 2014 ABIM. Thanks!

 

[Circa]

hi y'all. was wondering if someone would like to study together. from chicago. have week on week off schedule. failed the test the first time by a couple points....🙁

was super down about it, and its hard to get back into this. anyways, dont want to bore u with a sob story. just need to take this test and put it in the ground. if anyone wants to study w/ me or skype or whatever, im all ears. will be coming back to the site to get some motivation. good luck everyone

I am looking for a study partner as well. I live in the Washington DC area but am open to skyping or something similar if that works for you. Thanks!

 

[Circa]

Does anyone have thoughts about the ACP board review course vs the Awesome Board Review Course? I have not read much about the ACP course on the forum and am wondering if it is not as good as the Awesome course. Thanks!