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ynetranium and night runner. i am in same situation. failed and no more attempts.

my job told me no eligibility no re credentialing
im about to resign before i dont get re credentialed
not sure what to do. abim says you have to redo 1 year residency but there are no "1 year residency" i emailed abim academic affairs today to see if a 1 year transitional residency would suffice. " i suspect this will put a lot of doctors out of work now. even if i can find a spot somewhere residency starts in july . i have bills to pay. i asked abim on the phone when and how we were notified and she said email. she then said she was unable to find that correspondence where i was notified and that it has been posted on the website since 2012. i only signed in to the website last year after i first found out about this when my director was reviewing my file last year.

any ideas

At this point, lawyering up may be the only recourse though I'm not sure what can be done.

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ynetranium and night runner. i am in same situation. failed and no more attempts.

my job told me no eligibility no re credentialing
im about to resign before i dont get re credentialed
not sure what to do. abim says you have to redo 1 year residency but there are no "1 year residency" i emailed abim academic affairs today to see if a 1 year transitional residency would suffice. " i suspect this will put a lot of doctors out of work now. even if i can find a spot somewhere residency starts in july . i have bills to pay. i asked abim on the phone when and how we were notified and she said email. she then said she was unable to find that correspondence where i was notified and that it has been posted on the website since 2012. i only signed in to the website last year after i first found out about this when my director was reviewing my file last year.

any ideas
I'm not sure what the rules are but can you apply for a chief year somewhere? which are 1 year and generally should allow you some time to study. People are also free to moonlight during chief years so you can make up some of the lost salary. Just a thought.
 
ynetranium and night runner. i am in same situation. failed and no more attempts.

my job told me no eligibility no re credentialing
im about to resign before i dont get re credentialed
not sure what to do. abim says you have to redo 1 year residency but there are no "1 year residency" i emailed abim academic affairs today to see if a 1 year transitional residency would suffice. " i suspect this will put a lot of doctors out of work now. even if i can find a spot somewhere residency starts in july . i have bills to pay. i asked abim on the phone when and how we were notified and she said email. she then said she was unable to find that correspondence where i was notified and that it has been posted on the website since 2012. i only signed in to the website last year after i first found out about this when my director was reviewing my file last year.

any ideas
Let them know you had extremely difficult circumstances in your life and provide evidence for that. Ask for one more shot at it. If given the chance, study for a whole year
 
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Does this apply to fellowship programs as well? If you fail IM boards x3 then you are not eligible to take sub speciality boards??
 
So we should be receiving our certificates this week. It’s week 6 :))
Has anyone received theirs yet?
 
ynetranium and night runner. i am in same situation. failed and no more attempts.

my job told me no eligibility no re credentialing
im about to resign before i dont get re credentialed
not sure what to do. abim says you have to redo 1 year residency but there are no "1 year residency" i emailed abim academic affairs today to see if a 1 year transitional residency would suffice. " i suspect this will put a lot of doctors out of work now. even if i can find a spot somewhere residency starts in july . i have bills to pay. i asked abim on the phone when and how we were notified and she said email. she then said she was unable to find that correspondence where i was notified and that it has been posted on the website since 2012. i only signed in to the website last year after i first found out about this when my director was reviewing my file last year.

any ideas

We had a person do a one-year residency in my program at OUHSC. He had lost his medical license at one point and had to do a year of residency before the Oklahoma Medical Board would let him re-license. The program was short on people at the time and was happy to have him. Programs lose people all the time for various reasons and one-year filling spots are available. I don't know how rare they are.

That said, it really seems like the ABIM should have sent everyone a certified letter informing them of their policy change. It would have generated a lot of money for them because a lot of people would have stopped procrastinating and started taking the boards seriously.
 
Passed the 10 year traditional recertification exam. Been working as a hospitalist most of these years. Did Awesome Board Review and then read those notes twice. Did some MKSAP questions just for practice and skimmed through the answers of the ones I got wrong, since I had not attempted an exam in 10 years. MKSAP score first time mid 60s. Exam score 575. Passing was 372. Studied for around 5 months. I thought the exam was harder than last time (i.e in 2009). Anyways I’m glad it’s over. Getting too old for this nonsense
 
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There is a Hospitalist Board.. though honestly, don't see the advantage of having it?

Well, if you're a pure hospitalist and never plan on doing outpatient medicine, do you really want to study up (and answer questions) on outpatient management of osteoporosis, or oral hypoglycemics? Wouldn't you rather concentrate on just inpatient medicine?
 
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I initially registered for the hospitalist board maintenance of certification. There’s some paperwork involved, including verification from your supervisor that you’ve been working as a hospitalist for a certain number of years and have seen a certain number of inpatient cases.

Taking the traditional IM boards is more convenient for a variety of reasons. Most people take that and there’s more help/ guidance available about what to study. Trust me, when you’re ten years out of residency, you don’t have the same support network that you do as a fresh graduate.

Many hospitals, credentialing offices etc still don’t know what the hospitalist board is. This can especially complicate things when you want to work in nursing homes, LTACs or medical offices etc on the side.

For those who don’t know, the hospitalist boards option is only for recertification. Initial certification exam is the same for everyone.
 
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[QUOTE="heydoc19, post: 21347646, member: 1004209"
ynetranium and night runner. i am in same situation. failed and no more attempts.

my job told me no eligibility no re credentialing
im about to resign before i dont get re credentialed
not sure what to do. abim says you have to redo 1 year residency but there are no "1 year residency" i emailed abim academic affairs today to see if a 1 year transitional residency would suffice. " i suspect this will put a lot of doctors out of work now. even if i can find a spot somewhere residency starts in july . i have bills to pay. i asked abim on the phone when and how we were notified and she said email. she then said she was unable to find that correspondence where i was notified and that it has been posted on the website since 2012. i only signed in to the website last year after i first found out about this when my director was reviewing my file last year.

any ideas
[/QUOTE]

Hello heydoc19,

I'm still trying to get over the new reality. It hit me much harder than I thought it would. I feel your pain my friend, very much so. I studied hard for 2 months and after the exam I knew I missed a few questions but still felt I did well enough to pass, sadly I came close but still failed. This made it harder to deal with.

I am looking into a couple of options.

1. Ask the board for an exception to take the exam again next year. But almost no chance they'll agree to that.

2. Board Certification through ABPS, their IM certification is recognized in most states and by CMS and almost all insurance plans and accepted by most hospital credentialing requirements. It is a bit of a mafia though, they demand $900 per year for "maintenance of certification"

Or if there is any legal merit:

3. Hope for a class action lawsuit against the ABIM to force them to offer 7 year deadline from the time they formally notify all potentially affected candidates, since no one was notified at all by the ABIM change in 2012. The first I received an email from them about this was in early March 2019! I didn't know about the change until then. I'm not sure if affected physicians have any valid legal case here or not.

If anyone on this forum knows an attorney who handles similar cases, maybe can ask them if affected physicians have a viable case and report back here.

Doing another year of residency is unrealistic for most of us who have families to feed and a mortgage to pay at this point of our lives. Apart from the huge financial setback, it will definitely not look good on your CV.

If you have any other ideas please let me know. I could use any help I can get too. I feel depressed and demoralized
:(
 
Does anybody have any idea when the AOBIM exam results come back?

I took both exams (first attempt) and sadly did not pass ABIM. Scored 368. I've never been a good test taker, but haven't failed anything previously. I'm devastated. The thought of studying again is giving me crippling anxiety because I now work full time and have very young kids.

Overall when I took the tests, I felt better about ABIM than the AOBIM exam. The AOBIM felt like there were just so many off the wall questions, no information in the question stems, terrible images that looked like they were from 1940.

I'm hoping that regardless of my feelings the pendulum swings in the passing direction, but I'm also trying to mentally prepare to study again. First time around I did Uworld x 2 and MKSAP sort of haphazardly. Reading this thread it looks like there is a lot more I can do to prepare to study again like board basic and med study videos and maybe a board review course. The problem is finding the time between work and my kids....

I guess I'm looking for any words of wisdom on AOBIM and any advice....

Thank you QUOTE]

I just Pm you!
 
Passed the 10 year traditional recertification exam. Been working as a hospitalist most of these years. Did Awesome Board Review and then read those notes twice. Did some MKSAP questions just for practice and skimmed through the answers of the ones I got wrong, since I had not attempted an exam in 10 years. MKSAP score first time mid 60s. Exam score 575. Passing was 372. Studied for around 5 months. I thought the exam was harder than last time (i.e in 2009). Anyways I’m glad it’s over. Getting too old for this nonsense


Also took the 10 year traditional recertification MOC last Oct 4 2019 . I have been working as an independent medical examiner or IME ( performing disability exams) for about 7-8 years so I took the MOC one year early, just in case I did not pass, since I did not have any physician patient relationships as an IME. This was my 3rd recertification MOC with the last one in 2010. I thought the one in 2010 was more difficult.

I did pass with a score of 586. This was how I studied-- I studied for 5 months. For the first 2 months, I would read/study intermittently the MedStudy Q bank I purchased about 30 min-60 min/day during weekdays and about 1 hour -4 hours/day during weekends depending on work schedule and how tired I was.

Panicked after attending the Medstudy course last July 2019 in Dallas and studied more seriously, went over the included Medstudy video lectures several times so it would get into my head and I would understand and remember "pearls" , again reviewed the Medstudy Q bank and reviewed missed questions at least 3x till I would score about > 85% in practice tests .

I also went thru 70% of the MKSAP 18 questions and reviewed till scored > 60% in practice tests. Believe me, when one is nearing 60 years old, I could not remember even what I studied or memorized the previous 1-2 days. A lot has changed in 9 years-- remembering the newer kinds of oral hypoglycemics, vaccination, all the genetic markers, the new HIV tx, new tx for C diff, guidelines for prophylaxis for infective endocarditis, guidlines for treatment of ACS . etc . etc... all foreign to me. Often times, I would get frustrated because I cant remember anything,,, but repetition, repetition and perseverance are the keys.

Also paid attention to high value questions and the ABIM Blueprint. Medstudy was easier to tackle for me and was a great help. The mnemonics helped. Pay more attention to the blueprint-like which items are checked which would likely most to appear.
Hope this helps
 
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I am sitting for recertification with a knowledge check in in March 2020.
Doing medstudy Uworld Questions and video series.

if you are interested in a daily session contact me. we can skype and read qeustions or topics. using medstudy

thanks [email protected]
EST time

Medstudy Ubank Passtheboard ACP

Added BoardVitals . medquest

Medstudy videos plus pass the board plus Medstudy questions might be the right answer

Any one doing the knowledge checkin vs 10 yrs recertification ? Any thoughts
 
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One important point for the MOC exams is the ability to use Uptodate during the exam. This is probably more useful for some of the exams (IM, pulm, etc.) but not as much for others (sleep). However, with that you should definitely plan to spend no more than 2 minutes per question, flag questions you might get correct with a bit more reading time during the exam and then return to those at the end of the session if you still have time. I started spending the full 8 hours on the recertification exams since Uptodate and it's worked out reasonably well.
 
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I am a PGY3 starting to organize study materials for ABIM in August. I matched into Allergy/Immunology fellowship so passing is the utmost importance (don't want to study for two boards at the same time). My residency program purchased MKSAP every year (which is nice), but I don't feel like I am learning--partly because we are required to do quizzes at the end of month, so I complete them out of haste and not learning. I feel as though I need a schedule or videos or something else. What are thoughts on MedStudy or Awesome review? Or anything else?
 
Hi. I’m living in NY currently a PGY2. Just looking for a study partner to prepare for IM boards. Either Skype or in person in NY is fine.
 
Hi. I’m living in NY currently a PGY2. Just looking for a study partner to prepare for IM boards. Either Skype or in person in NY is fine.
interested!
 
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I am a PGY3 starting to organize study materials for ABIM in August. I matched into Allergy/Immunology fellowship so passing is the utmost importance (don't want to study for two boards at the same time). My residency program purchased MKSAP every year (which is nice), but I don't feel like I am learning--partly because we are required to do quizzes at the end of month, so I complete them out of haste and not learning. I feel as though I need a schedule or videos or something else. What are thoughts on MedStudy or Awesome review? Or anything else?
I did MKSAP through residency but it's different from my learning style. When it came down to crunch time (6 months prior to test) I did MedStudy Videos and UWorld which was a good, comprehensive combination for me. A lot of people do MKSAP and do fine. But for me it was not in depth enough. I tried to do the Medstudy books, but they were too dense, and despite much effort, I could not get through them.
 
I read again my missed points, and still don't understand why I failed by 1 point, 370. I got about 73% of answers correct (Missed content will tell the wrong ones, if 1 content with 2 questions, it will tell). For example: Med Onc, I missed only 1 question, (I guess I remember what question i did wrong), and it's below almost -1sd for Med Onc, which means the national average got 0 wrong answer (!?); 3 questions of nephro was missed and it was towards the -2sd. People said if you do 60-70% of MKSAP or UW right, you will pass. But it seems not the case for the real board with 73%.
This test is harder than the Steps, in terms of passing, as the questions are not too hard, so more people got right answers, the bar is higher, the percentile to pass is higher, got 1 answer wrong can flip the result the other way around. This is not right, because the year when you take the test, let's say 99/100 of other test takers got 99% answer right, you're the only one 1/100 person who got 98% correct, which mean you would fail the test, because you're below average (!).
ABIM should give a fix number of questions to get right for passing. Which means you got enough knowledge to be board certified.
Am I missing anything?

I've read Board Basics, some topics in details from MKSAP books (all are 2018 versions), did MKSAP18 multiple times, wrote down main points of each question and study, did MedStudy multiple times, made notes in words for all questions, watched MedStudy clips 1.5x times, read through MedStudy core syllabus (notes from MedStudy slides). Quite confident in Statistics (0 wrong).
Seniors didn't give much advise as they passed with only MKSAP questions and board basics. ABIM blueprint is more comprehensive than what the MKSAP questions and Board Basics cover.
Anyone in same situation? Any advise on the plan how to prepare would be much appreciated.
 
I read again my missed points, and still don't understand why I failed by 1 point, 370. I got about 73% of answers correct (Missed content will tell the wrong ones, if 1 content with 2 questions, it will tell). For example: Med Onc, I missed only 1 question, (I guess I remember what question i did wrong), and it's below almost -1sd for Med Onc, which means the national average got 0 wrong answer (!?); 3 questions of nephro was missed and it was towards the -2sd. People said if you do 60-70% of MKSAP or UW right, you will pass. But it seems not the case for the real board with 73%.
This test is harder than the Steps, in terms of passing, as the questions are not too hard, so more people got right answers, the bar is higher, the percentile to pass is higher, got 1 answer wrong can flip the result the other way around. This is not right, because the year when you take the test, let's say 99/100 of other test takers got 99% answer right, you're the only one 1/100 person who got 98% correct, which mean you would fail the test, because you're below average (!).
ABIM should give a fix number of questions to get right for passing. Which means you got enough knowledge to be board certified.
Am I missing anything?

I've read Board Basics, some topics in details from MKSAP books (all are 2018 versions), did MKSAP18 multiple times, wrote down main points of each question and study, did MedStudy multiple times, made notes in words for all questions, watched MedStudy clips 1.5x times, read through MedStudy core syllabus (notes from MedStudy slides). Quite confident in Statistics (0 wrong).
Seniors didn't give much advise as they passed with only MKSAP questions and board basics. ABIM blueprint is more comprehensive than what the MKSAP questions and Board Basics cover.
Anyone in same situation? Any advise on the plan how to prepare would be much appreciated.
Wow, seems like you did quite a comprehensive review. My only guess is that either you may not have some core concepts down or maybe some of it can be attributed to test taking strategy vs anxiety. My advice would be to tap a new resource, UWorld. I thought UWorld was ridiculously detailed, however, I used it with all of my steps and the layout is very similar to the real deal so I opted to do what was familiar. Again, I did go through MKSAP twice during residency and for my learning style, the questions were not in depth enough or not presented in a way in which I could retain concepts (though it's sufficient for other people). I ended up going through UWorld twice alongside Medstudy videos, reading every explanation and looking up unclear concepts. I was fairly confident going into the exam but still came out of the exam feeling demoralized. It ultimately worked out as I scored above average when historically I'm average at best.

Other thoughts include trying a tutor or a review course. I know some people that did Awesome review and liked it. I know another that swore by the ACP review course after having failed the first time around. I believe he did the one in Washington. Good luck the second time around. The good thing is that you were so close that with a bit more fine tuning you're sure to pass.
 
It seems like most of the posts in this thread are from people taking ABIM exam for the first time. This will be the fourth for me. Passed it first in 1990 and again 2000 and 2010. I was fortunate not to have to study for the to recerts but I didn't pass by a huge margin and obviously being older know I don't want to take it for granted this hopefully last time. I prefer to study by taking practice exams and then reading to improve any areas of weakness, then retest and so on. It looks like there are a lot of products on the market these days besides the MKSAP which was never a favorite of mine anyway. I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions as to what might be the best way to go. Thanks in advance
 
As you'll notice on the previous 39 pages of this thread, there are innumerable opinions about what works "best". Your learning style is what matters the most IMO.

People will say that Awesome Review or some other in-person/video course is the best way to go. I would personally just spend all that time writing notes and dicking around on SDN, so that's clearly not the "best" for me. But if lecture based content works for you, then that's a good choice.

I personally do very well w/ QBank style studying for these exams. It's all I've done since Step 2CK (including Step 3, ABIM x1 and Med Onc x1) and it has worked well for me. I used MKSAP and it worked fine. I'm sure any of the other QBanks out there would work just as well.
 
Thanks. I wasn't really looking for what works best. As you said that really depends on each persons learning style. I am just looking for a single resource that would contain good study material and practice exams or at least the ability to format questions into an exam. Given the fact that there are many digital products ideally it would be helpful to have the ability to customize practice exams to focus on weak areas. I was looking at MedStudy which seems to have most of the features I need. I'm wondering if others have used this or if there are other products that might be better for a study-retest-study-retest strategy.

As you'll notice on the previous 39 pages of this thread, there are innumerable opinions about what works "best". Your learning style is what matters the most IMO.

People will say that Awesome Review or some other in-person/video course is the best way to go. I would personally just spend all that time writing notes and dicking around on SDN, so that's clearly not the "best" for me. But if lecture based content works for you, then that's a good choice.

I personally do very well w/ QBank style studying for these exams. It's all I've done since Step 2CK (including Step 3, ABIM x1 and Med Onc x1) and it has worked well for me. I used MKSAP and it worked fine. I'm sure any of the other QBanks out there would work just as well.
 
It seems like most of the posts in this thread are from people taking ABIM exam for the first time. This will be the fourth for me. Passed it first in 1990 and again 2000 and 2010. I was fortunate not to have to study for the to recerts but I didn't pass by a huge margin and obviously being older know I don't want to take it for granted this hopefully last time. I prefer to study by taking practice exams and then reading to improve any areas of weakness, then retest and so on. It looks like there are a lot of products on the market these days besides the MKSAP which was never a favorite of mine anyway. I'm wondering if anyone has suggestions as to what might be the best way to go. Thanks in advance

That someone like you, with 30 years practicing experience, has to take this test again, after clearly demonstrating that you can pass it (3 times)....is utterly ridiculous. I'm so sorry. Our profession is miserably failing your generation.

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if you didn't take it? If you said, "F---this , I've been practicing for 3 decades, I don't need to be board certified", would you get fired?
 
That someone like you, with 30 years practicing experience, has to take this test again, after clearly demonstrating that you can pass it (3 times)....is utterly ridiculous. I'm so sorry. Our profession is miserably failing your generation.

Just out of curiosity, what would happen if you didn't take it? If you said, "F---this , I've been practicing for 3 decades, I don't need to be board certified", would you get fired?

Yeah it is a bit ridiculous and a constant source of consternation among myself and my colleagues. I do 50-100 hours of CME annually which is focused on things I actually use in practice. The idea of spending thousands of dollars and perhaps a hundred hours or more on a test that is nothing more than trivial pursuit for doctors is wasteful and frankly disrespectful. We obviously need to make sure physicians are maintaining their skills but this is not the way to do it. There are efforts underway to change all of this which is why I hope this will be my last time taking the test.

As far as what would happen if I didn't take it. The answer for the moment is that I wouldn't be able to practice in my current position. I gave up private practice 4 years ago and joined NYU but board certification is one of the requirements for employment here. Even in private practice there are many insurance plans one can not participate in if not board certified which limits the scope of practice. Hopefully by the time you face this situation ABIM recert will be a thing of the past and an alternative and relevant method of verifying competency will be in place.
 
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Yeah it is a bit ridiculous
Not a bit...it's totally ridiculous

We obviously need to make sure physicians are maintaining their skills but this is not the way to do it.
Well said and quite true. I would even be for doing a full background investigation on every physician, say q10 years, looking at her credentials, case load, procedures, complication rates, complaints, quality of CME, etc etc.....than using a 300-question multiple guess test to ascertain for competency.

Hopefully by the time you face this situation ABIM recert will be a thing of the past and an alternative and relevant method of verifying competency will be in place.
Doubtful unfortunately. Looks like it's here to stay. We physicians are good lap dogs, we know how to take it on the chin, we like the abuse. We let this get away, now it's too late. What's more likely to happen in the future---once everybody is BC'd and does MOC regularly, because that is the new baseline---is that another credential will be created or mandated, then we'll go for that as the new benchmark. We're never happy with just practicing medicine.
 
Hi everyone,
I am a third year resident, now preparing for the boards

1- what is the best source to become a physician with good medical knowledge (not just for the exam purpose)

2-what is the best source for the ABIM exam ( MKSAP ( books or questions)vs medstudy vs Uworld)

thank you
 
Hi everyone,
I am a third year resident, now preparing for the boards

1- what is the best source to become a physician with good medical knowledge (not just for the exam purpose)
IM residency

2-what is the best source for the ABIM exam ( MKSAP ( books or questions)vs medstudy vs Uworld)
Look 5 posts up
 
Not a bit...it's totally ridiculous


Well said and quite true. I would even be for doing a full background investigation on every physician, say q10 years, looking at her credentials, case load, procedures, complication rates, complaints, quality of CME, etc etc.....than using a 300-question multiple guess test to ascertain for competency.


Doubtful unfortunately. Looks like it's here to stay. We physicians are good lap dogs, we know how to take it on the chin, we like the abuse. We let this get away, now it's too late. What's more likely to happen in the future---once everybody is BC'd and does MOC regularly, because that is the new baseline---is that another credential will be created or mandated, then we'll go for that as the new benchmark. We're never happy with just practicing medicine.
It’s all important. We have all met incompetent docs in practice with rave reviews because of great bedside manner, professionalism, and knowing their limitations. I totally understand why having a monopoly like ABIM is not great and by itself this shouldn’t determine anything. However, I would not want a doc for myself or my loved ones who cannot pass a knowledge test that is passed by at least 90% of those who take it.
 
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However, I would not want a doc for myself or my loved ones who cannot pass a knowledge test that is passed by at least 90% of those who take it.

Would you be ok with a doc who's already passed it 3 times and has been practicing safely and effectively for 30 years? Do you really need him to pass it a 4th time?

I know you're smart, and you're just towing the party line. I get it, we're all in the same Shawshank. But at some point let's exercise some common sense.
 
Would you be ok with a doc who's already passed it 3 times and has been practicing safely and effectively for 30 years? Do you really need him to pass it a 4th time?

I know you're smart, and you're just towing the party line. I get it, we're all in the same Shawshank. But at some point let's exercise some common sense.
That’s why I said that all parts are important. We have all seen and known docs who decided that their learning ends at what they learned in school and residency. Sure, they are “safe” and to some extent “effective”. They do their CMEs the same way most people do online driving school. Their patients love them but don’t know better. How can we prevent this situation? I am sincerely asking.
 
That’s why I said that all parts are important. We have all seen and known docs who decided that their learning ends at what they learned in school and residency. Sure, they are “safe” and to some extent “effective”. They do their CMEs the same way most people do online driving school. Their patients love them but don’t know better. How can we prevent this situation? I am sincerely asking.

I would say lets beef up CME, make it more rigorous, more reviewable. You deserve credit for doing a serious course, or being involved in good research, vice a CPR class in Maui. I would also advocate for a system that reviews physicians say every 10 years, with respect to their patient load, cases, procedures, where they're credentialed, disciplinary actions. I would rather pay $10K every 10 years for a good systemic review like that, than for a multiple guess test.

But look, the crazy train of BC/MOC has already left the station. I'm not delusional, I know it's not going to change. What I would advocate is that we---as a collective group of physicians---be careful to not allow any further crazy trains in the future.

Hell what's next, a daily re-certification? Breaking: ABIM Requires Daily Recertification | GomerBlog

or maybe you should repeat a portion of your residency every time you re-certify?! Maintenance of Certification Programs to Require Repeating Residency | GomerBlog

Many a truth might be spoken in jest.
 
Ok, so I’ve failed this exam several times before and took it on and off randomly, never taking it serious. First time was right after my wedding and was looking forward to the honeymoon and not the exam. Then, every summer I’d want to enjoy it and travelled a lot. So I kept failing. I didn’t care since my Hospitalist positions required only board eligible. Well, I tried leaving this job and going to another one, and all the ones I applied to wanted certification. So I realized things are getting harder for me. Furthermore, I realized there’s only 7 years of board eligibility post residency and this was my last year. That all hit me at once like a brick wall.
I’ve always been a crappy test taker. Usmle were low 200s and ITEs were 5% or less. But I’m personable, witty, and great at my job. I’ve won various awards every year out of residency for the first 4 years of practice. So I knew the whole time that this exam is just bs and doesn’t mean anything. Just a cash cow for a select few.
Anyway, realizing that I’d have to repeat a year of residency or forever be not certified, I set up a plan. I started studying in November 2018. I’m fortunate to work 7 on 7 off. Lots of study time, especially since I’m divorced now. I started with medstudy and finished all the books, flash cards, the week long course in New York, and questions (72% score), and listened to the audio every morning on the way to work. Medstudy is easy so it shouldn’t be your only source, but it gives a good foundation.
I also bought mksap questions (62% score) and Uworld (63% score, 72nd percentile), and did them once for the remaining 4 months of studying. I also reviewed Know-medge trivia tweets on Twitter, and made stickys that I’d review every night for major GI and cardiology concepts.
I treated this like it was the military. I didn’t skip a day. It was do or die and I was determined to pass.
I’ve honestly had nightmares for years about this exam, everything from broken test computers, arriving late for the exam and being denied entry, to realizing I forgot to learn how do an oil change for cars because that was on the exam.
Sorry for the long post. It’s not just a post for you, but also to forever document my struggle and path to passing.
So all said and done, with the amount of studying I did, I found this exam to be straightforward and fair. Unlike in the past where it all looked Chinese to me. Today I saw the email. I started to hyperventilate as I logged in. My heart raced. I saw “Pass”, fell to my knees and cried tears of joy for the first time in my life.
I passed with a 516, higher than the 500 mean. In the past my scores ranged from 217-358.
I truly believe it’s doable. But you have to set aside time for it daily and review it over and over again. Once you do that, you start to see the patterns. You can do it, but you need to treat it very seriously.
To those who failed, I’ve been in your shoes multiple times before. Keep your head up. Take it seriously. It’s a year from your life, but when it’s done, it’s done. Wishing you all luck. Finally and most important: Thank you God
i feel so hopeful. starting my studying this jan 2020. I am now off my night job which made it impossible for me to function. I hope this is my year.
 
Does anyone have access to awesome board review pdf file or notes? Struggling financially to attend the course. Would greatly appreciate thanks!
 
Online board review resources . No particular seq .some online some live and some apps

www.awesomereview.com








www.medstudy.com





 
has anyon use nejm practice questions for abim? how helpful was it?
 
Rising PGY-2 looking a study partner for the Boards on a regular basis. Can go over MKSAP. Please message me if interested. Thanks!
 
abim considering future test dates for this cycle (after the august date). any thoughts on when results will be available?
 
Hi, I am interested in studying for ABIM boards. I am a PGY-2 and would like to study everyday to prepare for boards next year. Please message me if you are interested. Thanks!
 
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