Official ABIM Exam/study tools thread!

[studentdocftw]

Passed! Don't really know/care but 533!
Didn't use MKSAP at all, just did 85% of UWorld, flagged missed, and went through 80% of those again.
Total study time..probably 6 months? Off and on...but grinded the last month.

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[HemOncCheng]

just drop a note here. I have awesome review internal medicine book with note and answers (95%) when I attended the course. I personally think it is very helpful.
give out to anyone who want it, hope it can be helpful. If you need shipping or meeting in a neutral place, I am happy to do it, you paid the shipping and $5 for my labor to pack and ship (if shipping is needed) or my gas to meet in place.
Please PM me if interested

 

[PhoenixRS]

Just spoke to ABIM by calling them. There is no longer a three attempt and wait a year before retake rule. You can take it as many times as you want in the seven year eligibility period. Hope this helps anyone who has failed three times

 

[bebrave1]

This post is For those who didn't pass the exam

I didn't pass ABIM the first time, multiple reasons but basically, I didn't know what to study, I was following posts here in the student doctor network and every one was saying I did UW or MKSAP mcqs or did awesome review and I scored that much or this much blah blah blah + in the real exam I scored 500+ or 400+ etc.
Following these advices, I just did MKSAP mcqs X 2 and UW mcqs X2 plus NEJM mcqs X1 and ACP prep review course videos. I read mcq explanations and scored 20 marks below the passing score. I never failed any exam in my life so I was shattered. I couldn't sleep for months. I didn't know what I did wrong and what to do now.

In 2022 during my last year of fellowship, one of my attendings sat down with me and told me that I have very good medical knowledge but seems I don't study systematically. That advice was shook me for few days but I took it seriously. For my fellowship IT which was in Feb 2023 (in training exam) I started studying my speciality book, every system one by one and every chapter one by one. I had 2 months before the exam so I was able to give 2-3 hours every day. Aim was to do systematic studying to become knowledgeable and not just pass the exam. I was able to do 10-12 high yield chapters (out of 32 chapters) before the IT. I didn't do a single mcq during that period. I was surprised the next month, when PD called me to disclose our IT results and I scored 482 (highest in the whole program). This strategy gave me a hope that I can pass ABIM and I knew what did I do wrong.

I found 6 study partners online, 2 didn't pass the ABIM once and 3 didn't pass ABIM in their first 2 attempts. Asked their strategy and most were relying on doing as much as mcqs, some loved UW and some loved MKSAP. We discussed and started studying Board Basics 19 (online as well as paper). We would just read BB every day 1-2 hours and discuss the topics. We would go to the related text link and read mksap related text and add notes to Board basics paper form. After finishing fellowship I took a break, stayed in library for 8-12 hours from July 15th onwards. I did took Awesome review which I initially thought was very helpful but found it extremely difficult to retain any information from awesome review notes. Well 3 of my partners left the group in early june as they disagreed with our strategy of reading BB and not doing mcqs during study sessions. 2 of three wanted to just do UW mcqs and 1 just wanted to go over awesome review notes multiple times. Anyways moving forward 3 of us kept reading BB till id of july and than started our own studying. I probably have read some BB chapters 10-15 times. Just towards the end I started doing mksap 19 mcqs in the tutor mode and finished all of them 2-3 weeks before the exam and repeated them once again. BB probably has 300 pages but my BB has almost 550 pages (stuff I added from mksap). I didn't do a single UW mcq. I read awesome review cardiology and rheumatology chapters very well.

Moving forward the day of exam 1st 2 blocks I finished 30-40 min earlier, last 2 5-10 min earlier. Most questions were more than easy some were difficult. Result: I passed with score close to 500, 2 other partners who stayed with BB strategy passed (I don't know there scores). All three who wanted to just do UW/MKSAP mcqs or awesome review revision unfortunately couldn't pass. I discussed with all of them and unfortunately, they opted for mcq strategy as they were also doing jobs and didn't have time to read the book.

2 of them loved UW and failed doing just UW mcqs previously as well.

My 2 cents.

- Read some book and than do mcqs (mksap or UW)
- Reverse learning (learning from mcqs only) doesn't work in real exam. You must read a book for whatever exam you are going for and than strengthen your memory by doing mcqs. In real exam they won't give you same mcqs.
- 8000 plus docs take this exam every year 90% plus pass this exam, less than 0.5% post their experience here (that might have worked for them but might not work for you) . I trusted (posts from student doctor) them once by doing UW/mksap mcqs and awesome review and I failed. Reading the book got me through ~ Let me tell you reading the book is 10 times harder than doing just the mcqs.
- Read the same book multiple multiple times. (You should read so much that when you sleep you dream about what you've read)
_

* My personal advice is "unless you scored extremely good in you IT exams", avoid doing MCQS for this exam without reading a book.

Thanks

 

[kaycee18]

did anyone receive this?

"Your 2023 MOC fee is due".​

​

I have 8 years before my MOC exams is due. Yet they want me to pay $220 yearly? this is thief. How are we letting them do this to us? The nursing boards does not do that to nurses.​

 

[Angler]

"Your 2023 MOC fee is due".​

​

I have 8 years before my MOC exams is due. Yet they want me to pay $220 yearly? this is thief. How are we letting them do this to us? The nursing boards does not do that to nurses.​

My situation is different; my initial certification was in 1986, which made it a permanent certification. But then they added this crazy MOC crap, and started charging. I paid one time, then I decided, why should I pay? My place of employment didn't require MOC participation, just "current" certification. But then ABIM indicated in 2014 that my status would be noted as: "MOC: not participating." I didn't care. I stopped paying after that first time (in retrospect, I shouldn't have paid that first time).

I did some of the MOC stuff. But not all. I retired in 2020. I just checked my ABIM profile on their website. I'm still listed as Certified and participating in MOC! I haven't submitted anything to them in years regarding MOC!

And, it says that my $220 is due!

Anyway, this thread is drifting and I apologize. In case you can't tell, I don't like the ABIM.

 

[kaycee18]

My situation is different; my initial certification was in 1986, which made it a permanent certification. But then they added this crazy MOC crap, and started charging. I paid one time, then I decided, why should I pay? My place of employment didn't require MOC participation, just "current" certification. But then ABIM indicated in 2014 that my status would be noted as: "MOC: not participating." I didn't care. I stopped paying after that first time (in retrospect, I shouldn't have paid that first time).

I did some of the MOC stuff. But not all. I retired in 2020. I just checked my ABIM profile on their website. I'm still listed as Certified and participating in MOC! I haven't submitted anything to them in years regarding MOC!

And, it says that my $220 is due!

Anyway, this thread is drifting and I apologize. In case you can't tell, I don't like the ABIM.

MOC Opposition Continues to Gain Momentum as ASH Weighs In

The American Society of Hematology (ASH) urged changes to the MOC process in a recent letter to the ABIM. ASCO is currently surveying members about their MOC experience.

www.medscape.com

I even heard that they now revoke people’s certification.

 

[nakedmolerat]

did anyone receive their certificate (those who took it aug 2023) in the mail yet?

 

[Bendamustine]

did anyone receive their certificate (those who took it aug 2023) in the mail yet?

Im waiting too.

 

[Lovenox]

Took my MOC recertification exam on 10/19/2023.

-Work as a hospitalist

-Studied more aggressively the past 5 months. Studied 8 hours a day, the last 40 days. Usually, I read BB in the morning and do 2-3 timed Uworld exams of 60 questions and went over all of the answers. (I did not realize that one can copy the answers and paste them in the note, then copy and paste it into Word. Nevertheless, I did not use these notes. The questions in Uworld are often so long that I read the first sentence of the questions, then go to the physical examination, labs, imaging, and the main questions, and attempt to answer the questions. Most of the questions on the real exam are not that long so I did not use that technique).

-Board Basics: many times (>8 times cover to cover, >10 times my highlights, tables, pictures, and the highlights that came with the book).

-Medstudy videos: 1 time. (Bought it on Ebay and also converted into MP3, but could not really focus enough to learn from it so I stopped listening to it while walking my dog. It helped with sleeping. I will not share it because of copyright issue).

-Uworld: Timed mode 100%, redid 50% of missed questions. Cumulative score 65%. (Did not have time to reset and repeat another run through it).

-Exam day: 4 sections with 55 questions each. (I thought that there were only 3 sections). 120 minutes for each section. 5 minute break between 2nd and 3rd sections. (I was given a locker, but was told that I could not access it during my break??? could not drink my Monster and Eat my Kind Bars. I don't recall that it was like that 9 years ago). Had only one statistics question. Very few questions as long as the ones in Uworld. Very few clueless questions.

-I doubt that the last few days helped me on the exam. Despite knowing that, I could not help myself. BB is the minimal essentials and Uworld is excellent to help retrieving the information, exercising reasoning, and time organization (i.e. do not spend more than 2 minutes on each question, mark questions that you are uncertain, then go back and use UpToDate if needed. It is helpful to highlight key words in those questions so when you go back, you can recall quicker to optimize your time. Only use UpToDate after completing the last question). Uworld is annoying for not providing reference labs, one has to look them up. Real exam provides normal ranges.

-I believe in knowing one source very well instead of multiple sources. My BB book fell apart. I had to take it to Fedex to have it cut and hole punched. Now, it is in a 3-ring binder. I will continue to reread BB until the result is back! good luck everyone!

 

[Dominus]

Took my MOC recertification exam on 10/19/2023.

-Work as a hospitalist

-Studied more aggressively the past 5 months. Studied 8 hours a day, the last 40 days. Usually, I read BB in the morning and do 2-3 timed Uworld exams of 60 questions and went over all of the answers. (I did not realize that one can copy the answers and paste them in the note, then copy and paste it into Word. Nevertheless, I did not use these notes. The questions in Uworld are often so long that I read the first sentence of the questions, then go to the physical examination, labs, imaging, and the main questions, and attempt to answer the questions. Most of the questions on the real exam are not that long so I did not use that technique).

-Board Basics: many times (>8 times cover to cover, >10 times my highlights, tables, pictures, and the highlights that came with the book).

-Medstudy videos: 1 time. (Bought it on Ebay and also converted into MP3, but could not really focus enough to learn from it so I stopped listening to it while walking my dog. It helped with sleeping. I will not share it because of copyright issue).

-Uworld: Timed mode 100%, redid 50% of missed questions. Cumulative score 65%. (Did not have time to reset and repeat another run through it).

-Exam day: 4 sections with 55 questions each. (I thought that there were only 3 sections). 120 minutes for each section. 5 minute break between 2nd and 3rd sections. (I was given a locker, but was told that I could not access it during my break??? could not drink my Monster and Eat my Kind Bars. I don't recall that it was like that 9 years ago). Had only one statistics question. Very few questions as long as the ones in Uworld. Very few clueless questions.

-I doubt that the last few days helped me on the exam. Despite knowing that, I could not help myself. BB is the minimal essentials and Uworld is excellent to help retrieving the information, exercising reasoning, and time organization (i.e. do not spend more than 2 minutes on each question, mark questions that you are uncertain, then go back and use UpToDate if needed. It is helpful to highlight key words in those questions so when you go back, you can recall quicker to optimize your time. Only use UpToDate after completing the last question). Uworld is annoying for not providing reference labs, one has to look them up. Real exam provides normal ranges.

-I believe in knowing one source very well instead of multiple sources. My BB book fell apart. I had to take it to Fedex to have it cut and hole punched. Now, it is in a 3-ring binder. I will continue to reread BB until the result is back! good luck everyone!

Moving forward do you think you'll keep doing the 10 year re-cert or potentially move to the yearly question model?

 

[dgdg]

Moving forward do you think you'll keep doing the 10 year re-cert or potentially move to the yearly question model?

I did 10 years MOC last Fall as I didn't want a quarterly monkey on my back. For me, one and 10 years done worked better. YMMV.

 

[Lovenox]

Moving forward do you think you'll keep doing the 10 year re-cert or potentially move to the yearly question model?

Agree with the above post. I prefer the decennial exam, which is more comprehensive and not having to deal with the Boards that often.

 

[jessmess]

did anyone receive their certificate (those who took it aug 2023) in the mail yet?

I just got mine today.

 

[mj2323]

I passed the AOBIM with an above average score but I failed the ABIM this year. I am board-certified now though!!
I don't understand how I failed ABIM still. Should I study again and take ABIM?
Any disadvantages of not being ABIM certified other than cannot become a residency program director (which I don't have any aspirations for)?

 

[dgdg]

I passed the AOBIM with an above average score but I failed the ABIM this year. I am board-certified now though!!
I don't understand how I failed ABIM still. Should I study again and take ABIM?
Any disadvantages of not being ABIM certified other than cannot become a residency program director (which I don't have any aspirations for)?

Congratulations!

 

[AIHopeful2023]

I passed the AOBIM with an above average score but I failed the ABIM this year. I am board-certified now though!!
I don't understand how I failed ABIM still. Should I study again and take ABIM?
Any disadvantages of not being ABIM certified other than cannot become a residency program director (which I don't have any aspirations for)?

Nah, other than some employers might only accept ABIM certification. But even then, it might be because they don't know what AOBIM is. You can even explain to some employers that it is an equivalent board certification and they'll accept it. Another limitation might be fellowship. If you want to take a board specialty exam, one of the pre-requisites is to be board certified through ABIM. But again, there are AOBIM board specialty exams as well so if I were you, I'd just save my money and time.

 

[Test Boy]

Has anyone take the longitudinal assessment instead of the traditional 10 year exam for IM? I’m wondering how this exam is. Is the NEJM knowledge plus questions enough to pass the recertification?

 

[boards24]

Hi ,
Thank you for having me.
I am looking for a ABIM study partner. Where can I reach out and look for them ?

 

[SDN]

Hello boards24!
Welcome to SDN!

 

[gutonc]

Hi ,
Thank you for having me.
I am looking for a ABIM study partner. Where can I reach out and look for them ?

Right here.

 

[Pinkyblack]

Where can I get access to these board questions for discounted rates?

 

[Snake89]

Any consensus what's the first pass UW percentage to pass the exam? Just had my first pass with 68%.

 

[gutonc]

Any consensus what's the first pass UW percentage to pass the exam? Just had my first pass with 68%.

There's no consensus based on any real data, but I think a 68% on first pass, with 8 months left to go puts you in a pretty good spot.

 

[dgdg]

Any consensus what's the first pass UW percentage to pass the exam? Just had my first pass with 68%.

Mine was similar. I think now, it's what you do with it.
I made some posts earlier about active learning with question banks that I found helpful. Otherwise, you're just doing a snapshot on performance, but not improving your retained knowledge.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

I passed the AOBIM with an above average score but I failed the ABIM this year. I am board-certified now though!!
I don't understand how I failed ABIM still. Should I study again and take ABIM?
Any disadvantages of not being ABIM certified other than cannot become a residency program director (which I don't have any aspirations for)?

All that matters is being board certified. If an employer asks you, you can point to them that they are equivalent by law and insurance companies cannot discriminate.

 

[dgdg]

It would be nice if that were law of the land. And frankly, my state does not require any board certification to have a license to practice.
However, I thought hospital systems, insurers, and other employers were free to make their own determination which certification bodies they recognized contractually. For others here on the forum in the future (not me except sincere curiosity), do you have a legal reference for this? If it is USA wide, that would be a Federal law; otherwise, we'd be looking at each individual state.

 

[AlbinoHawk DO]

It would be nice if that were law of the land. And frankly, my state does not require any board certification to have a license to practice.
However, I thought hospital systems, insurers, and other employers were free to make their own determination which certification bodies they recognized contractually. For others here on the forum in the future (not me except sincere curiosity), do you have a legal reference for this? If it is USA wide, that would be a Federal law; otherwise, we'd be looking at each individual state.

I don't know the law. I have yet to see an insurance company turn down AOBIM certification. You must remember that not too long ago many DOs could not take ABIM, but they have legal parity. There's no way the entire DO profession exists with insurance companies turning down DOs. Most insurance companies only care that you're board certified by a board that's recognizable. They don't care about this ABIM vs AOBIM crap. They are here to make money and have doctors in their network

 

[Meerkatology]

i just started my hospitalist med LKA with abim. initially just dove in and did around 20 questions of my first quarter.
felt i needed to do some studying so bought a uworld sub, i used uworld to study for the initial exam 10 years before.

i dont know how others feel but holycrap uworld is hard. while i've only done a limited # of questions for both. i currently feel uworld's difficulty is wayway beyond the LKA questions. if i didnt also try the LKA questions i'd be freaking the hell out right now.

dunno if this is good or bad thing

 

[Saxappeal1]

So I am retaking the boards: I'd like some input about my study strategy:

1. Starting Uworld 40-60 questions a day this month on non-working days and 10-20 questions a day on working days (I am a nocturnist that works 9p-7a usually in 7 night stretches.) When that is done, do MKSAP x1 while doing Uworld a second time through.

2. Med-study for audio pearls, at least 2-3 one hour sessions a week, alternating with board basics MKSAP

3. Awesome review in April 2024 virtually.

4. Repeat awesome review in July 2024 virtually

Boards August 15, 2024.

Last time, I did Uworld and MKSAP, got like 60-65% correct on both, did Uworld through 1.2 times and MKSAP got maybe 75% done, with some board basics, and reached just below passing.

 

[LoudBark]

i just started my hospitalist med LKA with abim. initially just dove in and did around 20 questions of my first quarter.
felt i needed to do some studying so bought a uworld sub, i used uworld to study for the initial exam 10 years before.

i dont know how others feel but holycrap uworld is hard. while i've only done a limited # of questions for both. i currently feel uworld's difficulty is wayway beyond the LKA questions. if i didnt also try the LKA questions i'd be freaking the hell out right now.

dunno if this is good or bad thing

You are studying for the LKA? I thought the whole idea of LKA is that you don't study for it like you do for the 10 year exam where you spend months cramming prior to the exam. The ABIM touted the LKA as some lower stakes thing you just do on your own time without the cramming and studying and time constraints of preparing for the 10 year test. The LKA is basically something you are tied down to for the rest of your life (or at least your career), so you if you study for it, then the studying will never end (at least until you retire).

 

[Meerkatology]

You are studying for the LKA? I thought the whole idea of LKA is that you don't study for it like you do for the 10 year exam where you spend months cramming prior to the exam. The ABIM touted the LKA as some lower stakes thing you just do on your own time without the cramming and studying and time constraints of preparing for the 10 year test. The LKA is basically something you are tied down to for the rest of your life (or at least your career), so you if you study for it, then the studying will never end (at least until you retire).

well LKA still has pass/fail and u only get 4minutes per question so its not like u can leisurely research every answer, i dont know how hard/easy it is to pass since they dont tell u the pass %. its basically a test u can take little by little at ur lesiure. with time/location of your choosing.

i haven't studied at all in the last 10 years, so i feel like im pretty rusty.
my plan is just to also do continous light studying for the first year or so

but ya everything is new about this so still figuring out the best way to go about it. i still much prefer it over some high stress test every 10 years

 

[dgdg]

well LKA still has pass/fail and u only get 4minutes per question so its not like u can leisurely research every answer, i dont know how hard/easy it is to pass since they dont tell u the pass %. its basically a test u can take little by little at ur lesiure. with time/location of your choosing.

i haven't studied at all in the last 10 years, so i feel like im pretty rusty.
my plan is just to also do continous light studying for the first year or so

but ya everything is new about this so still figuring out the best way to go about it. i still much prefer it over some high stress test every 10 years

As you all know, the 10 year exam allows approximately 2 minutes per question if you assume there are 60 (max) questions on each 120 min exam block. So that is not a big difference - 2min vs 4min per question, other than you are perpetually having to do little timed exam blocks with the LKA. Additionally, I recall it is at least 5 years of LKA before you are scored pass/fail?
One person's sense of LKA lesiure could be another's torture.
Not sure about the LKA, but with the 10 year exam you get the whole 2 hours to answer all of the 60 quesitons in the block. It is not a per question time restriction. Allocate your total time as you see fit. Some easy questions I could answer in about 15-20 secs, allowing me to bank valuable time for analyzing the harder questions.

 

[glorifiedresident]

Hi, I'm doing my second 10 year recert (yes I'm old), I chose to take the test so I can be one and done for 10 years. (This actually might be the last "standardized" test I take ever.
I have access to the MKSAP 19 online questions (there are 2000 questions, so quite a few), I have done about 300 questions so far and got about 63% correct (which doesn't seem too great)
I am scheduled to take the test in April. I hate the thought of spending time studying stuff that I will never use (I'm a hospitalist, and I don't usually treat babesiosis or scleroderma renal crisis)
Now that you can use Uptodate during the test, I'm thinking maybe I don't really need to study. I'll answer the ones I know right away and then use Uptodate on the remaining. Is that a good strategy? Time doesn't seem to be a major issue on the test (I believe it is 120 minutes for 60 questions for each section) The other option is I slog through all the MKSAP questions...
Have you taken the recert with Uptodate, and what was your experience?

 

[dgdg]

I have a couple earlier posts in this thread that you may find worthwhile.

Some specific additional comments to your post -
A three months study timeline may be fine or far too short. Some could take the exam with little prep and pass, others study massively and still fail. Your past performance may provide some prediction for you.

Based on my experience (YMMV),
relying on open book for a significant portion of the 10 year exam is a poor strategy, especially without practice. 2 min average per question goes by quickly.
If you frequently practice with time exams using up-to-date, you will become more efficient and understand how up-to-date fits with your test taking. Do a practice exam on uworld or nejm now. See what you think. I found it enlightening. Do a practice exam once a week. Get a rhythm like you once had.
I'm trying to quantify it, which is very challenging, but up-to-date probably gave me the correct answer to only a relatively small number of questions where I had no clue. It confirmed my answer with some others.
Assuming a 2 min per question average time limit, you should practice finding your up-to-date answer within 30 secs. There's a learned skill to that.

General internal medicine is sadly dwindling away in our healthcare system. Remember in training the vast amount of knowledge and experience you gained working 90+ hour weeks? You were the frontline, the first non ER provider the patient saw, the one who wanted to make that diagnosis first and treat as much as possible. With that (wordy detour) said and acknowledging the ABIM rants, I found in my question banks there were things I rarely use, but should be more familiar with again as a curious internist. Even if you will never need to know what the eyes look like in Leptospirosis, why not (re)learn it and slam that once in a career dx when your partner asks you for a curbside. Or when your patient had a transfusion recently and gets babesiosis but everyone else thinks it's a UTI. It happens....

Taking timed practice digital exams is extremely helpful to get you into an efficient test taking workflow. I'm certain it will improve your score and boost your test day morale. Those 2hr blocks go by very quickly, and everyone walks away feeling horrible.

Many here have said, and I'd agree that mksap is not the preferred sole study resource. YMMV. See my earlier posts with comparisons.
I highly, highly, highly, highly preferred UWORLD if used with an active learning process (see my other posts).
UWORLD's visual format matches the real exam in my opinion. Don't undervalue that. I think it's a big deal.
NEJM was my second favorite.
(I recall averaging mid 60's% first time through and passed comfortably.)

Good luck on your last cert!

 

[glorifiedresident]

Thank you dgdg. Yes I remember in residency and even during my first recertification 10 years ago, I studied so hard for the boards (I think I did well) the reason was I really do like internal medicine knowledge, and to a certain extent the medical trivia (I used to be able to recite the causes of the different types of RTA etc. etc. Now however I find it harder to spend precious time studying things which deep down inside I know I will never use in practice it just seems like a waste of time.

Today, I did try doing about 30 MKSAP questions using Uptodate, I actually found to quite helpful but pulling up the article on Uptodate and immediately clicking the summary of recommendation link. I didn't time myself however, so I do not know how long it would take. I think if I were to answer lets say half of the questions on my own and consult uptodate on the other half I would do pretty good I hope.

I haven't pulled the trigger on uworld mainly because I already purchased MKSAP19.

 

[gutonc]

Thank you dgdg. Yes I remember in residency and even during my first recertification 10 years ago, I studied so hard for the boards (I think I did well) the reason was I really do like internal medicine knowledge, and to a certain extent the medical trivia (I used to be able to recite the causes of the different types of RTA etc. etc. Now however I find it harder to spend precious time studying things which deep down inside I know I will never use in practice it just seems like a waste of time.

Today, I did try doing about 30 MKSAP questions using Uptodate, I actually found to quite helpful but pulling up the article on Uptodate and immediately clicking the summary of recommendation link. I didn't time myself however, so I do not know how long it would take. I think if I were to answer lets say half of the questions on my own and consult uptodate on the other half I would do pretty good I hope.

I haven't pulled the trigger on uworld mainly because I already purchased MKSAP19.

There are a lot of UW and MKSAP partisans here who swear the one they used is the only one that works. I used MKSAP because I got it for free. I did just fine with it. I probably would have done just fine with UW as well.

I think that if you passed the last 2 using MKSAP, using it a 3rd time will be fine. If you feel like you want another source, UW is the obvious choice.

 

[Meerkatology]

. I hate the thought of spending time studying stuff that I will never use (I'm a hospitalist, and I don't usually treat babesiosis or scleroderma renal crisis)

there is only one option for the 10 year test right? as in all IM'ers take the same one.

im also a pure nocturnist, the 5 year LKA offers a hospitalist path. while i have only done like 20 or so questions, they have so far been inpatient based.

when i open uworld 75% of the questions are outpatient, i've only done the inpatient ones so far, but i dont think outpatient is particularly relevant to what i need to know and would hate to take another 10 year test with most questions being outpatient stuff :\

theres always the obscure stuff. but if u can recognize it, its usually not hard to quickly browse uptodate for the management options.
and imo being able to recognize the obscure conditions is still relevant to a hospitalist. even though it may never come to use in my life time

 

[glorifiedresident]

I'm working through MKSAP, i'm blown away with how irrelevant not only to me but to almost any internist these questions are. I mean really irrelevant. I seriously am considering just winging it.

 

[dgdg]

there is only one option for the 10 year test right? as in all IM'ers take the same one.

im also a pure nocturnist, the 5 year LKA offers a hospitalist path. while i have only done like 20 or so questions, they have so far been inpatient based.

when i open uworld 75% of the questions are outpatient, i've only done the inpatient ones so far, but i dont think outpatient is particularly relevant to what i need to know and would hate to take another 10 year test with most questions being outpatient stuff :\

theres always the obscure stuff. but if u can recognize it, its usually not hard to quickly browse uptodate for the management options.
and imo being able to recognize the obscure conditions is still relevant to a hospitalist. even though it may never come to use in my life time

Would be nice if uworld had a hospitalist bank.

 

[Shanzay]

I think Awesome Review is way too over-hyped. I took the course because my program paid for it. This program is by NO MEANS a substitution for self studying. He goes way too fast, goes off on tangents ( yes he's trying to tie the concepts together but it is SO distracting) . You end up just jotting notes down on his booklet and barely have time to digest the material ( you'll end up just wasting most of your time just writing down /filling in the blanks of his book , he might as well just fill it out for you so you can self study). Then you take the next few months reviewing the material. Don't torture yourself by going live....do live stream. BUT, this is what it is, a REVIEW course. You should take this course only after you have a good grasp on the topics/understanding. Is it helpful? Any review course is. My conclusion is that it is NOT necessary for you to pass your boards. Use that time to do qbanks qbanks qbanks/board review basics. Think of it as a supplement, not a replacement for self studying ( which I think many mistakes people make for failing re-cert , failing ABIM)..

One thing he said during the lecture that really made me upset was he gave an example of someone who failed the ABIM. His advice to the person? Go to his course multiple times and he/she unfortunately went to 5-6 of his courses. Really...... ? Instead of telling her how to study he made her do what? I felt so bad of how much $ she lost....but hes laughing all the way to the bank ( and oh my god his anti-piracy rules for live stream, on his books are so over the top..)

and lastly, NO it is not worth going more than once. Everything is in the book he hands out to you/write during the lectures.
Did I mention the painful schedule? 7am-7:30pm DAILY.


Just my opinion

 

[Shanzay]

Hello, I’m a pgy 2 looking to find a MKSAP study partner for ABIM. Would like accountability and discussions as per availability. (I’m just Beginning prep) EST time zone. Thanks. Pl leave contact details if interested.

 

[bebrave1]

Hi looking for ABMS infectious disease study partner for Nov 2024

 

[bebrave1]

Please email [email protected] if interested

 

[Doctor_Strange]

I'm looking to purchase any kind of study materials that is not MKSAP for ABIM. I am really worried about not passing. Halfway through UW on my first pass and sitting at 50% (untimed 20q random blocks, but I do time myself). I did alright on the Steps but not great on my ITEs. I need y'alls help

 

[AIHopeful2023]

I'm looking to purchase any kind of study materials that is not MKSAP for ABIM. I am really worried about not passing. Halfway through UW on my first pass and sitting at 50% (untimed 20q random blocks, but I do time myself). I did alright on the Steps but not great on my ITEs. I need y'alls help

Honestly, UWORLD is all you need. If your program offers Awesome Review, that might be helpful too. I never cracked above 50% on my ITEs in residency. I did UWorld first pass. Then I did Awesome Review after I felt like I understood UWorld. Then I did UWorld again and passed ABIM first attempt no problem. For what it’s worth, I also did not do great on steps or Comlex.

 

[BicepsTriceps]

I'm looking to purchase any kind of study materials that is not MKSAP for ABIM. I am really worried about not passing. Halfway through UW on my first pass and sitting at 50% (untimed 20q random blocks, but I do time myself). I did alright on the Steps but not great on my ITEs. I need y'alls help

What's wrong with MKSAP?

I did MKSAP questions only. Not the books and got 725+.

 

[dgdg]

I'm looking to purchase any kind of study materials that is not MKSAP for ABIM. I am really worried about not passing. Halfway through UW on my first pass and sitting at 50% (untimed 20q random blocks, but I do time myself). I did alright on the Steps but not great on my ITEs. I need y'alls help

If you use UW, or really any question bank, you need to be an active learner to remember the answers to questions you missed. You need new information retention.
There can be a lot to learn from even answers you get right - why is it right, what more can you learn about the topic, and why the other answers are wrong. Often enough you will be asked a question about a topic that you have studied, but the question may be different than the exact answer in your question bank. That's why it is important to explore the right and wrong answers, and retain that information, so you are prepared for any question on the topic.
Personally, I tired several questions banks and loved UW. Questions and explanations were very well done, visual format is similar to the exam.
NEJM came in a close second for me. I did both banks once in their entirety, making custom flash cards for retention.

People debate which study method and material is best. I think many would agree it depends on your base knowledge and how you learn best. Some may study very little and pass while others may study massively and fail.

 

[glorifiedresident]

Took ABIM recertification test (this was my second recert test)

I chose taking the exam because I wanted to just do it one time and not have to deal with 5 years of LKA questions. As I was preparing for the exam I came to question this decision many many times, and I think if I had to do it over I probably would have chosen to do the LKA questions (maybe..)

Preparation: I did all 2200 MKSAP 19 questions (I used Uptodate on some of the questions, but honestly I was too lazy to use it and would usually just give a educated guess, My score was around 63-65%) I was planning on reviewing all of the wrong answers but I got totally tired out of studying and after I completed all of the questions I didn't have the mental energy to review the wrong questions. I assumed the exam itself would be easier than MKSAP (more on that later)

Arrived at testing center at 730. I asked the proctor how long are ABIM people usually at the test center, he said they are usually here until 430-530 depending on how much break time they use, in my mind I was thinking there's no way I'll be here until 430pm. I was thinking I would not need the full 2 hours per section (55 questions per section x 4 sections). I skipped the tutorial since I did it at home, and dove right into the first section. I quickly realized that this test was not easy, in fact I had to look up the answers to the first five questions and it took me a while to figure them out. It quickly dawned on me that this was going to be a long day. One hour into the exam, I was feeling pretty depressed knowing I had 7 more hours of questiosn. I estimate I had to use Uptodate on 80% of the questions. What helped me was I started to view it as not an exam, but a research exercise using Uptodate, and I just relaxed and took my time. The questions were very particular and there was no way to know the answer besides looking up the answers. I ended up using all of the time for each section, in fact on two of the sections I basically didn't have any time left, there definitely was not time to review any questions. I was pretty patient and took my time with uptodate hunting for answers, I think this strategy payed off because if you look long enough (usually) i could find the answer.

I was finished by 5:30pm. Long story short the test is basically 8 hours of searching Uptodate for answers to very particular questions. One thing I am not sure is: Is the original non recertification test (where you do not have Uptodate) the same, I really can't imagine doing this particular test without Uptodate. I didn't have any issues passing the original boards (20 years ago and the first recertification 10 years ago), so I don't know if they have now made the recertification test more difficult now or if it is the same. Honestly, in hindsight I would have studied less because I don't think any more studying would have made any difference.

If I could do it over, would I choose the exam over the LKA questions? This is a tough call. Now that I'm done, I'm happy to be finished. I actually think either option is reasonable, if you are someone who just wants to be done with it, I think the exam is a good option. Interestingly enough on this particular exam day, there were only a handful of other doctors taking the exam, I do not think the exam is a very popular option. I hope this helps anyone who is making the decision regarding ABIM recertification.

 

[dgdg]

Took ABIM recertification test (this was my second recert test)

I chose taking the exam because I wanted to just do it one time and not have to deal with 5 years of LKA questions. As I was preparing for the exam I came to question this decision many many times, and I think if I had to do it over I probably would have chosen to do the LKA questions (maybe..)

Preparation: I did all 2200 MKSAP 19 questions (I used Uptodate on some of the questions, but honestly I was too lazy to use it and would usually just give a educated guess, My score was around 63-65%) I was planning on reviewing all of the wrong answers but I got totally tired out of studying and after I completed all of the questions I didn't have the mental energy to review the wrong questions. I assumed the exam itself would be easier than MKSAP (more on that later)

Arrived at testing center at 730. I asked the proctor how long are ABIM people usually at the test center, he said they are usually here until 430-530 depending on how much break time they use, in my mind I was thinking there's no way I'll be here until 430pm. I was thinking I would not need the full 2 hours per section (55 questions per section x 4 sections). I skipped the tutorial since I did it at home, and dove right into the first section. I quickly realized that this test was not easy, in fact I had to look up the answers to the first five questions and it took me a while to figure them out. It quickly dawned on me that this was going to be a long day. One hour into the exam, I was feeling pretty depressed knowing I had 7 more hours of questiosn. I estimate I had to use Uptodate on 80% of the questions. What helped me was I started to view it as not an exam, but a research exercise using Uptodate, and I just relaxed and took my time. The questions were very particular and there was no way to know the answer besides looking up the answers. I ended up using all of the time for each section, in fact on two of the sections I basically didn't have any time left, there definitely was not time to review any questions. I was pretty patient and took my time with uptodate hunting for answers, I think this strategy payed off because if you look long enough (usually) i could find the answer.

I was finished by 5:30pm. Long story short the test is basically 8 hours of searching Uptodate for answers to very particular questions. One thing I am not sure is: Is the original non recertification test (where you do not have Uptodate) the same, I really can't imagine doing this particular test without Uptodate. I didn't have any issues passing the original boards (20 years ago and the first recertification 10 years ago), so I don't know if they have now made the recertification test more difficult now or if it is the same. Honestly, in hindsight I would have studied less because I don't think any more studying would have made any difference.

If I could do it over, would I choose the exam over the LKA questions? This is a tough call. Now that I'm done, I'm happy to be finished. I actually think either option is reasonable, if you are someone who just wants to be done with it, I think the exam is a good option. Interestingly enough on this particular exam day, there were only a handful of other doctors taking the exam, I do not think the exam is a very popular option. I hope this helps anyone who is making the decision regarding ABIM recertification.

Glad you made it through!
Although it was hard to tell due to privacy and being discrete, I don't think any other physicians were present when I was at the test center 1.5 years ago. Definitely were some 11.5 years ago when I took it.
It's always a long day, and probably everyone comes out with some degree of imposter syndrome.

For future test takers, I recommend reviewing the wrong and right answers while you are doing each question, not intending to go back later. I liked Ankidroid for making flash cards in real time as well. This helps with retention of new information as opposed to solely an assessment of current knowledge. Timed practice tests using UpToDate helps you gauge your pace.
Doing the tutorial in advance is a good idea. UW visual format was pretty much identical to the 10 yr recert exam which helped me.
I'd do the 10 year again without hesitation in an earlier career path, but next time I'm not sure how much longer I'll be practicing, so I'll do the LKA instead if it is available.