i passed. whether i passed or failed, makes no difference in my positions:
1) this test is COMPLETELY worthless measure of competence as internist or primary care
2) we should DEMAND more meaningful test content
3) we should SUPPORT competition (i.e.
National Board of Physicians and Surgeons - Board Certification) only and only so ABIM gets its head out of its rear and starts LISTENING to our complaints
4) those who passed now, remember the absolute BS you were put through with exam cost, prep cost, irrelevant test content, and lack of transparency on the part of ABIM, and consequently please support the wave of change that our senior physicians are demanding in terms of MOC changes. We need initial cert exam changed as well to reflect true practice
to those who have to take the exam for the FIRST TIME
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1) there will be a good 40 questions on this test where nobody knows where the F*** ABIM got it from
2) if you speak to your program directors who may have meetings with ABIM, demand these GUINEA PIG questions be removed from your test as much as possible. $1500 for a test is enough to demand this. Why do we have to be guinea pigs for MOC exam test takers?
3) in terms of prep, read Board Basics back and forth 3-4 times and memorize it. You will still end up getting out of exam like WTF !!! There will be stupid ENT and Ophtho questions over and over again. I had NO questions on COPD or Asthma, NO questions on CHF management, NO questions on DM management, NO questions of GI bleed management. Instead I had questions on eosinophilic pneumonia. I had question whose answer hinged up knowing whether amyloidosis vs waldenstrom has retinal involvement (and that's after going through hell to eliminate the other choices). I had three questions on the interpretation of Rinne, Weber, and nystagmus patterns. I had plenty of ophtho questions. The questions in my fellowship field were SO FREAKING hard (and I'm sure I got them all), that I felt super bad about others taking the test. Yeah, Cards wasn't hard. Pulm wasn't hard. And there wasn't that many questions in them to begin with. At least that was my test.
4) Question banks are great and at the same time COMPLETELY WORTHLESS. Yeah you should do them all and memorize every detail in it. However, they are not EVER at the depth that the real exam requires it to be.
Plenty of people got out of the test and felt like "oh yeah, i knew the answer" but trust me, when i say they were completely wrong (questions happen to be in the area of my fellowship). You may get a false sense of security from the questions banks that you know stuff, but the hard test questions on this test, test you on absolutely the smallest minutiae (think one single buzzword throughout the question stem, or lack of a buzzword in it as the only factor that gives you the answer). If you happen to have time and finances to read Medstudy or MKSAP text (which is worthless IMO, too vague and not enough to know the hard questions on the test), then go ahead. Plenty of us cannot afford Awesome review and plenty of us are starting busy fellowships and can't read Medstudy for 1-2 months prior to exam. If you're in this group, make sure every single goddamn word in Board Basics is memorized to your core, and you may have a chance of passing this way.
5) If I were taking this test again, I would do MKSAP, UW at least twice, and read Board Basics 5 times, with last review of BB in the last 2-3 days prior to exam.
For those of you still having to take this test, please ask your PDs to DEMAND change to this exam like they are doing for MOC. We have NO VOICE in this whole mess of institution. Initial cert exam deserves a change to reflect true practice of internist, hospitalist, and PCP. Not the practice of hematologist, oncologist, hepatologist, neurologist and ENT.
To those who have to retake. I pray for you to have the patience to deal with this BS of process. Keep your head up. You're no different than people that passed. This test measures NOTHING of value.
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I know I will never recertify again. Even if I could, had the money, and had the knowledge to do so, I will absolutely NOT SUPPORT this piece of s*** institution.
Get their competition supported, so we can demand change from ABIM. Its overall goals and aspirations are great and admirable and I support it. I just don't support the crooks running it and absolutely don't support its current way of writing the exam.