Official ABIM Exam/study tools thread!

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gutonc said:
A really stupid amount of it. And this is coming from an oncologist.
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How often an IM doc will have an active role on what cancer treatment a patient should get? I have not seen it in my 33 months of IM residency so far... I guess I am gonna have to spend a little more time in that section.
 
Splenda88 said:
How often an IM doc will have an active role on what cancer treatment a patient should get? I have not seen it in my 33 months of IM residency so far... I guess I am gonna have to spend a little more time in that section.
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Not gonna lie. It's dumb. But that's what the test-writers choose to put on it. And, at least when I took it, MKSAP was pretty reflective of the content, and difficulty, of the actual exam.
 
gutonc said:
Not gonna lie. It's dumb. But that's what the test-writers choose to put on it. And, at least when I took it, MKSAP was pretty reflective of the content, and difficulty, of the actual exam.
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I guess I am warned. Will read the book and go over these questions again. At least I am doing ok in heme..
 
I am going to take ABIM recertification exam soon.
Anybody is in the same boat?

First ABIM attempt: failed, very low score.
Second attempt: passe, 9 years ago.
Now it's time to renew.

Any suggestions?
Thank you.
 
2012ABIM said:
I am going to take ABIM recertification exam soon.
Anybody is in the same boat?

First ABIM attempt: failed, very low score.
Second attempt: passe, 9 years ago.
Now it's time to renew.

Any suggestions?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Just took the recertification last week. If I pass then it worked, if not then.....I took the Awesome Board Review course, did UWorld, Knowmedge and MedStudy questions but only in the areas that were of high percentage on the exam - I did not have time for Heme/Onc (except breast cancer) and for Neuro (except HA, CVA, Seizures) and ignored Dermatology/OB/Pregnancy. I worked part-time for 3 months to have more time......
 
Drellismd said:
Just took the recertification last week. If I pass then it worked, if not then.....I took the Awesome Board Review course, did UWorld, ********* and MedStudy questions but only in the areas that were of high percentage on the exam - I did not have time for Heme/Onc (except breast cancer) and for Neuro (except HA, CVA, Seizures) and ignored Dermatology/OB/Pregnancy. I worked part-time for 3 months to have more time......
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They blocked out the word K*n*o*w*m*e*d*g*e.
 
Splenda88 said:
How often an IM doc will have an active role on what cancer treatment a patient should get? I have not seen it in my 33 months of IM residency so far... I guess I am gonna have to spend a little more time in that section.
Click to expand...

literally zero. the oncologist guides cancer treatment, full stop.
 
Took my recert recently. In my last exam 10 years ago I passed with 650+ score. This time around I studied on and off for about 4 weeks. I took awesome review course a week before my exam and did about 2/3rds of UWorld with avg score of 65% in last couple of weeks. Total prep time was about 3-4 weeks.
I found ABIM exam to be much harder and more difficult than UWorld. About 2/3rd of the exam was vague and confusing. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 
Took my recert recently. In my last exam 10 years ago I passed with 650+ score. This time around I studied on and off for about 4 weeks. I took awesome review course a week before my exam and did about 2/3rds of UWorld with avg score of 65% in last couple of weeks. Total prep time was about 3-4 weeks.
I found ABIM exam to be much harder and more difficult than UWorld. About 2/3rd of the exam was vague and confusing. Keeping my fingers crossed.
 
You know at the end of the In-Training exam there's a survey that asks you which review resources you used, with a list of checkboxes? Does anyone have this list? I'm curious.
 
drmommy129 said:
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 <3
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have you ever retaken the ABIM ? I have failed , postponed, canceled, and now there is a 7 year rule and this is my last year. Have one young kid. Time is short but manageable. Looking for reassurance though I have been meditating. Only route is to prepare and prepare, now. Hope you have passed, but if not yet, good luck !
 
carrot21 said:
have you ever retaken the ABIM ? I have failed , postponed, canceled, and now there is a 7 year rule and this is my last year. Have one young kid. Time is short but manageable. Looking for reassurance though I have been meditating. Only route is to prepare and prepare, now. Hope you have passed, but if not yet, good luck !
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are u talking about recert or first time?

also, i heard that we are allowed to use uptodate during the exam now? not sure when this happened but it wasn't the case when i took the initial 7 years ago.

has anyone taken the exam since this change, how do u feel about it?
 
Initial has a 7 year limit. Have lots of people in that boat.
MOC has no limit. I asked ABIM. UptoDate can be used for MOC. I did it last month..... It was useful after going through all the questions it helped me narrow down especially for pathognonomic terms. Let's see if passed.....
 
Whatwhenwhere said:
Took my recert recently. In my last exam 10 years ago I passed with 650+ score. This time around I studied on and off for about 4 weeks. I took awesome review course a week before my exam and did about 2/3rds of UWorld with avg score of 65% in last couple of weeks. Total prep time was about 3-4 weeks.
I found ABIM exam to be much harder and more difficult than UWorld. About 2/3rd of the exam was vague and confusing. Keeping my fingers crossed.
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I agree was vague, I took mine in April 2021.
 
Hello everyone,

I am a Canadian IM PGY-3 and recently passed the Royal College exam for IM and registered for the ABIM this summer.

Was wondering if anyone’s been in a similar situation before and has any advice on how I need to study for the ABIM given I’ve already been through studying for the Canadian exam (apart from going over my Canadian review course and going over American guidelines)? Is it worth it to buy a qbank or even an American review course? Don’t wanna spend more $$$ for no reason and would rather dedicate study time towards my upcoming sub-speciality fellowship if possible. For whatever it is worth I did the ACP ITE in PGY2 and scored a little over 70%.

Thanks.
 
Note: Moved to ABIM megathread.

I would say that some sort of ABIM directed study tool is probably a good idea, if only for the style, not necessarily content. MKSAP and UWorld are the most commonly used but there are dozens of others out there.
 
CCM-MD said:
PM me. My wife recently took ABIM after finishing IM in Canada.
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Thanks CCM-MD for the offer to help!

I tried to send you a PM but I think you have a security setting in your profile that doesn't allow PMs so feel free to PM me or I'll try again after you've had the chance to change your settings.
 
Whatwhenwhere said:
Took my recert recently. In my last exam 10 years ago I passed with 650+ score. This time around I studied on and off for about 4 weeks. I took awesome review course a week before my exam and did about 2/3rds of UWorld with avg score of 65% in last couple of weeks. Total prep time was about 3-4 weeks.
I found ABIM exam to be much harder and more difficult than UWorld. About 2/3rd of the exam was vague and confusing. Keeping my fingers crossed.
Click to expand...
Results notification came today via email for MOC ABIM - May 5 around 3PM EST.
 
2012ABIM said:
I am going to take ABIM recertification exam soon.
Anybody is in the same boat?

First ABIM attempt: failed, very low score.
Second attempt: passe, 9 years ago.
Now it's time to renew.

Any suggestions?
Thank you.
Click to expand...
I got my MOC ABIM results today and passed - similar experiences in the past as you and my daytime job is not IM. I had mentioned what I did earlier in terms of studying for 3m onths while working part time - I did 70% of UWORLD QUESTIONS/K-N-O-W-M-E-D-G-E QUESTIONS/MEDSTUDY QUESTIONS + AWESOME BOARD REVIEW. Did not review all of Neuro just HA/Seizure/CVA and for Heme just Anemia and MM and MDS ( random, I know) and in Oncology just BrCA/Prostate/Testicular/ and ignored Derm except common cancers..... I used UptoDate during MOC when I had to narrow down between two things. It looks EXACTLY like UWORLD in terms of visual - if I was not in the exam I would have thought I was in a UWORLD practice test, but the question length is shorter than that.
 
Hi guys, have any advice for my prep? I have about 7 weeks dedicated, and I was going to go thru UWorld. My program is paying for a course and I was considering Oakstone, unless anyone has better ideas.

Bit about my background, I’m from a community program that’s something of a workhorse, I haven’t done much studying (aside from reading about patients) because some rotations got unexpectedly busy. I scored 33rd percentile on my PGY3 ITE.
 
Trousseau said:
Hi guys, have any advice for my prep? I have about 7 weeks dedicated, and I was going to go thru UWorld. My program is paying for a course and I was considering Oakstone, unless anyone has better ideas.

Bit about my background, I’m from a community program that’s something of a workhorse, I haven’t done much studying (aside from reading about patients) because some rotations got unexpectedly busy. I scored 33rd percentile on my PGY3 ITE.
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7 weeks of dedicated study time for an exam you've been actively preparing for your last 3 years? Seems excessive. I spent about 6 weeks going through MKSAP QBank for a couple of hours 3 or 4 times a week at a bar after finishing whatever fellowship rotation I was on. I did fine. You will too.
 
I am studying for the ABIM. I am looking for a study partners/group to keep us motivated and share ideas/study plans about the exam.
I am currently doing MKSAP and UW.
Who is interested ?
 
Should we expect to see questions about COVID19?
 
Trousseau said:
Hi guys, have any advice for my prep? I have about 7 weeks dedicated, and I was going to go thru UWorld. My program is paying for a course and I was considering Oakstone, unless anyone has better ideas.

Bit about my background, I’m from a community program that’s something of a workhorse, I haven’t done much studying (aside from reading about patients) because some rotations got unexpectedly busy. I scored 33rd percentile on my PGY3 ITE.
Click to expand...
the test is a joke... dedicated should be 7 days rather than 7 weeks..
 
Splenda88 said:
Is MKSAP sufficient to prepare for it? Opinions differ here. Some say you should also do Uworld.
Click to expand...
just do uworld and call it a day...don't worry about mksap..not useful... Uworld has i think 1300-1400 questions... if u do 40 questions a day starting today you ll be done one by mid /end july...can easily be accommodated with starting new city and fellowship and orientation etc... if u paid token attention during residency , the test won't feel much..last year passing score was like 380/800...that is sub 50%..
 
cabergoline2 said:
just do uworld and call it a day...don't worry about mksap..not useful... Uworld has i think 1300-1400 questions... if u do 40 questions a day starting today you ll be done one by mid /end july...can easily be accommodated with starting new city and fellowship and orientation etc... if u paid token attention during residency , the test won't feel much..last year passing score was like 380/800...that is sub 50%..
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Are you serious?

So the board must be really hard then.
 
Last edited:
Splenda88 said:
Is MKSAP sufficient to prepare for it? Opinions differ here. Some say you should also do Uworld.
Click to expand...
Pick one. Any one of them will be enough. I only did MKSAP and did fine. Plenty of people only do UW and do fine. Don't complicate it.
 
Finishing up MKSAP and giving myself 50 days approx to complete UWORLD. Starting GI fellowship and plan to do 25 UWORLD questions a day and read board basics. MKSAP average right now is high 50s/low 60s and hoping to improve that with UWORLD and board basics. My ITE's weren't that hot.

25 UWORLD questions a day with fellowship should be fairly feasible right?

Good luck to everyone!
 
is board basics updated? it was published about 3 years ago. how are you dealing with the new updates when studying board basics?
 
Does anyone know anything about this "knowledge to practice IM boards prep" from Mayo?
 
Anyone selling UW, I just needed it for one month and don't want to pay for 3 months!
Thanks
 
Splenda88 said:
Is MKSAP sufficient to prepare for it? Opinions differ here. Some say you should also do Uworld.
Click to expand...
Was coming to ask the same thing. I have MKSAP, and I have The Pass Machine’s qbank. I’ve been persuaded it’s in my best interest to take ABOIM and ABIM so that’s $800 gone, so I’d love to not also spend $400 on uworld if it’s not needed. (PGY3 ITE 68th percentile, no idea what percent correct)
 
ortnakas said:
Was coming to ask the same thing. I have MKSAP, and I have The Pass Machine’s qbank. I’ve been persuaded it’s in my best interest to take ABOIM and ABIM so that’s $800 gone, so I’d love to not also spend $400 on uworld if it’s not needed. (PGY3 ITE 68th percentile, no idea what percent correct)
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I don't think you need to spend money on UWorld. Most people I have talked to said either MKSAP or UWorld is good enough for the ABIM.
 
Hi guys, coming here for advice:

Not a great test taker, pass on all 3 steps (around average but step 1 was pretty low). ITE 50's/40's/40's
MKSAP 18: 67% correct
UW: ~65% (but only done 25% so far)

I plan on finishing the rest of UW and reading through BB. Is there anything that you guys would consider high yield I should do? I have 1 month before the exam.
 
elgaeCB said:
Hi guys, coming here for advice:

Not a great test taker, pass on all 3 steps (around average but step 1 was pretty low). ITE 50's/40's/40's
MKSAP 18: 67% correct
UW: ~65% (but only done 25% so far)

I plan on finishing the rest of UW and reading through BB. Is there anything that you guys would consider high yield I should do? I have 1 month before the exam.
Click to expand...
I am studying for it now so take my advice with a grain of salt.


You did ok in MKSAP 18 and seem to be doing well in Uworld so far. Therefore, you should/will be fine. According to many, 40-50% of the exam is GIM, cardio and GI, so do your best to master these subjects.
 
Splenda88 said:
I am studying for it now so take my advice with a grain of salt.


You did ok in MKSAP 18 and seem to be doing well in Uworld so far. Therefore, you should/will be fine. According to many, 40-50% of the exam is GIM, cardio and GI, so do your best to master these subjects.
Click to expand...
Good to know, thanks!
 
Do we know an approximate % to pass, or is based on averages of those taking it? I saw 64% somewhere on the internet but don’t recall if it was a legitimate source.
 
ortnakas said:
Do we know an approximate % to pass, or is based on averages of those taking it? I saw 64% somewhere on the internet but don’t recall if it was a legitimate source.
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Last year, just below 400 (scale: 0-800) was a passing score. Not sure how the score translates into percentage of correct answers because it just does to make a lot of sense that you can pass with below 50%
 
@gutonc

There has to be a better way to study for Oncology for the board.

Was doing surprising well on the 1st set of ~77 questions of hematology section and then got annihilated on the last ~72 questions which are oncology.

I already read board basics; what do I need to do?
 
Splenda88 said:
@gutonc

There has to be a better way to study for Oncology for the board.

Was doing surprising well on the 1st set of ~77 questions of hematology section and then got annihilated on the last ~72 questions which are oncology.

I already read board basics; what do I need to do?
Click to expand...
It's been 10 years since I took the IM boards, and I'm never taking them again. Not sure you want me to tell you how to study.
 
gutonc said:
It's been 10 years since I took the IM boards, and I'm never taking them again. Not sure you want me to tell you how to study.
Click to expand...
I thought you took it not long ago and can provide some guidance on how to understand basic oncology
 
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