Official ABIM Exam/study tools thread!

[timtebowner]

Finally got through, I passed! So happy to be done with this forever. Below the mean but idc, im done with this test.

For future readers, make sure you include UWorld in your study plan. I credit them with helping me pass.

How were you able to access the portal and view your score?

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[Duke1K]

If u can’t find ur name on check physician as certified does that mean u failed?

No; the "check physician" database takes at most 90 days to update.

 

[darklabel]

How were you able to access the portal and view your score?

Keep on refreshing. I think the portal is working now.

 

[kjsdf]

I just took it the other day, and it's a hard test. I don't know if I passed yet or not. I did mksap once in residency, then uworld towards the end of residency, and finished in 2wk dedicated, followed by uworld incorrect and another mksap pass through. I got about mid 60s for each first pass.

Sounds like some people just did uworld in years prior on here, and maybe 45% is enough. I don't know. Worst case scenario, if you need board certification for a job, is just do another year of residency somewhere, and rest the 7 year clock. (I think this is how it works based on this forum, if someone can confirm)

Hi guys. I fortunately passed the test. My score is in the mid 500s. The score report lists passing for this year as 371, and the mean as 496. Replying so that future test-takers can see my strategy.

This performance, on my listed study materials, and on the real thing, is consistent with how my step exams have gone in the past.

Again, all I did was the above question banks, in addition to reading about patient issues as they came up. I will say that my residency had a bit of a stronger academics component which likely helped. I do feel that I am not as good of a clinician as I would like to be however, since it seemed like patient care opportunities weren't as abundant.


For anyone that may not have passed, I want you to know that this test is, in my opinion, a very poor measure of your ability as a physician. To me, it is at best a test of medical trivia, and at worst a money making scheme. Do not let it cast doubt on yourself and who you are. And please reach out to any family and friends for support. You're not the first to have to take this more than once, and you're not going to be the last. Good luck to you everyone going forward, and know that I will not care if you've passed this or not if I am ever working with you.

 

[rubixcube]

Passed! Can only see that I'm certified, but that's enough for me. See you all again in ten years lol

 

[mylohyoid28]

If u can’t find ur name on check physician as certified does that mean u failed?

I don't think so, have you had any luck? The website is working now.

 

[SFSK]

I am devastated, I scored a 370. The pass score is 371. Not sure what happened, thought I prepared pretty well, was doing above average on Uworld and finished it. Only a few months out of residency working as a hospitalist now. Don't want to go through with studying for this again next year but I guess it's the only option. I will do the re-score I suppose and pray I get lucky.

 

[EmCEm]

Congrats to those who passed! I passed. Whew!! And thanks for the support here even though I only posted a few times.

 

[EaglesAllDay]

I am devastated, I scored a 370. The pass score is 371. Not sure what happened, thought I prepared pretty well, was doing above average on Uworld and finished it. Only a few months out of residency working as a hospitalist now. Don't want to go through with studying for this again next year but I guess it's the only option. I will do the re-score I suppose and pray I get lucky.

Damn. Same here working already as a hospitalist and I went down by ten and feel the same exact way. Just irritated I have to take this exam again. Felt fairly good coming out too but have never been a great test taker. Probably gonna buy the new MKSAP asap. Smh thought I was good on exams for 10 years. So annoying.

 

[mylohyoid28]

I am devastated, I scored a 370. The pass score is 371. Not sure what happened, thought I prepared pretty well, was doing above average on Uworld and finished it. Only a few months out of residency working as a hospitalist now. Don't want to go through with studying for this again next year but I guess it's the only option. I will do the re-score I suppose and pray I get lucky.

I am terribly sorry. I know that nothing I say will make this better. I am pretty sure everyone on here had terrible fear of this happening. It is awful that it is a reality for you. All I can say is- I walked out thinking I failed. There is still so much I don't know. I am on uptodate all day every day. I can guarantee that you with your 370 and me with my 4 whatever does not make me a better doctor. This does not reflect who you are as a person or your worth as a doctor. The test was so stupid. I am treating things in the office and hospital every day that I didn't have ONE question on. Meanwhile as @kjsdf said, there was a lot of medical trivia. I agree with everything @kjsdf said: know your value is MUCH more than this stupid bull****, reach out to friends and family, know that you got the short end of the stick but you are still a f*cking doctor with a great future. Really their post was everything but to quote them: "Good luck to you everyone going forward, and know that I will not care if you've passed this or not if I am ever working with you."

​

 

[Temper888]

Looks like you can access score report through safari but not through google chrome. My score:635. Happy that I am done. Don't get disappointed if you have not passed. This was was a very vague exam.

 

[NS3964]

Take this with a grain of salt:

-Earlier in the day, the physician search would list my name, then it wouldn't, then it would.

-I called the ABIM directly and they said:

1. They will not give out test results over the phone

2. Do NOT rely on the physician look-up. They cannot guarantee that you passed unless you see your score report.

Granted, I finally saw my score report and I indeed passed--so I don't know if what the ABIM said is more of a CYA move or people are actually getting false passes via the physician look-up method. Either way, what an absolute clusterF it was today. 3+ hours of nothing but stress and limbo. It's 2021, you should have your servers in order on the release date. Or even send out encrypted attachments with a score report. For $1,500 per exam, you should have the resources to avoid this fiasco.

Has anyone seen their name listed as certified only to find out they actually failed (when checking the score report)?


tl;dr - the score report is the definitive answer. the ABIM said NOT to go by the physician look-up, but it's unclear if any "false positives" have occurred.

 

[BigGAC1]

Looks like you can access score report through safari but not through google chrome. My score:635. Happy that I am done. Don't get disappointed if you have not passed. This was was a very vague exam.

Anyone else not able to access their score report at all? Thank goodness I can see I passed, but I have no idea what my score is - tried on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, on a laptop and a desktop... I guess I'll just continue sitting here in bewilderment.

 

[smarts1]

Anyone else not able to access their score report at all? Thank goodness I can see I passed, but I have no idea what my score is - tried on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, on a laptop and a desktop... I guess I'll just continue sitting here in bewilderment.

Same here. I've also tried all different browsers and my phone but nothing is working. I just get the spinning wheel of death on the screen and it doesn't go anywhere.

 

[NS3964]

Anyone else not able to access their score report at all? Thank goodness I can see I passed, but I have no idea what my score is - tried on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, on a laptop and a desktop... I guess I'll just continue sitting here in bewilderment.

it worked for me around 2pm. Not working anymore.

 

[nolayup]

Can’t find my name on the physician look up and it says exam results not available on the portal. Anyone else have a similar situations?

 

[nola2016]

Passed comfortably.

Did mksap and uworld. Mksap I did early in the year (Dec 2020-feb 2021) and then read board review. Did uworld starting 2 months before boards. Uworld over prepared me for sure, but lots of questions were verbatim so it's not wasted time.

 

[Splenda88]

Passed.

I hope people sue ABIM and win... so I won't have to take this thing again.

 

[Medic7341]

Congratulations to those who have passed. I have never had issues with tests, never a top tier test taker but never failed until ABIM. I have now failed it twice and am at a total loss because all my work evaluations are superb. I honestly don't even know how to prepare for it now. I finished MKSAP questions (twice now) and did another 1200 NEJM+ questions and read a bunch of the MKSAP material on stuff I was weak on. The test had a ton of questions on heart sounds and from the break down that's a weak point.............. echocardiogram........... echo..... echo..... fml. The biggest difference I suppose is that I have two little kids that just suck up a ton of time and it feels like I don't have as much time to study so I have to do it in bursts instead of prolonged study sessions like I did prior to kids. My score was 349, has anyone had experience with rescoring? Is it worth my money? The silver lining is I did improve from the first time I took it, Just don't understand what I am doing wrong. I must be reading the questions differently or mis-understanding the concept they are trying to test because when I looked at the breakdown many of the topics I treat daily and feel very comfortable with. Any advice would be extremely welcome, and words of support as well as I am feeling pretty low right now.

 

[NS3964]

Congratulations to those who have passed. I have never had issues with tests, never a top tier test taker but never failed until ABIM. I have now failed it twice and am at a total loss because all my work evaluations are superb. I honestly don't even know how to prepare for it now. I finished MKSAP questions (twice now) and did another 1200 NEJM+ questions and read a bunch of the MKSAP material on stuff I was weak on. The test had a ton of questions on heart sounds and from the break down that's a weak point.............. echocardiogram........... echo..... echo..... fml. The biggest difference I suppose is that I have two little kids that just suck up a ton of time and it feels like I don't have as much time to study so I have to do it in bursts instead of prolonged study sessions like I did prior to kids. My score was 349, has anyone had experience with rescoring? Is it worth my money? The silver lining is I did improve from the first time I took it, Just don't understand what I am doing wrong. I must be reading the questions differently or mis-understanding the concept they are trying to test because when I looked at the breakdown many of the topics I treat daily and feel very comfortable with. Any advice would be extremely welcome, and words of support as well as I am feeling pretty low right now.

1. This exam should not get you down, or even excited. It's an inconvenient and expensive waste of time.

2. UWorld.

3. You'll be fine. This isn't the USMLE. The stakes aren't nearly as high.

 

[Kemien]

Congrats to everyone who passed.
I passed comfortably.
I was a Canadian IM who did the Royal College before the ABIM (which was 6 months of intensive studying on its own).
I only did Uworld x 1 for the ABIM slowly over 2-3 months period with multiple weeks where I did nothing.
For any future Canadian residents who want to do it, here's my advice:

- The IM material is in general easier on the ABIM exam. It's as a whole more common sense than the Canadian exam where they seem to be obsessed with certain weird topics. I still felt like **** after I did it but it turned out fine in the end.
- The Canadian exam has you memorizing many equations. All the equations you need are provided on the ABIM (which is much more reasonable).
- We study religiously guidelines whether they be Canadian or American for the Royal College. They're much less stuck up about the guidelines on the ABIM. I didn't re-read any guidelines for the ABIM.
- IM practice in USA is different than in Canada as some American internists do primary care which Canadian IM rarely does. So there are some psych, gyne and some general primary care stuff (for example; ear infections) that we do not study for our exam nor do we see in practice. The questions on these topics are not particularly difficult however and shouldn't intimidate you. Uworld served as a good refresher for these topics that I hadn't seen since medical school.
- I think if you passed the Royal college, the ABIM with a bit of a refresher on those other topics is not particularly difficult.
Personally, I would recommend uWorld for studying. My score on it also correctly predicted my performance on the actual exam. For Canadians, one run through before ABIM is more than enough preparation in my mind. I didn't open anything else apart from every now and then re-reading a few slides from the Canadian review course (Toronto review) for more challenging questions.

Best of luck to everyone.

 

[genomefan]

Congratulations to those who have passed. I have never had issues with tests, never a top tier test taker but never failed until ABIM. I have now failed it twice and am at a total loss because all my work evaluations are superb. I honestly don't even know how to prepare for it now. I finished MKSAP questions (twice now) and did another 1200 NEJM+ questions and read a bunch of the MKSAP material on stuff I was weak on. The test had a ton of questions on heart sounds and from the break down that's a weak point.............. echocardiogram........... echo..... echo..... fml. The biggest difference I suppose is that I have two little kids that just suck up a ton of time and it feels like I don't have as much time to study so I have to do it in bursts instead of prolonged study sessions like I did prior to kids. My score was 349, has anyone had experience with rescoring? Is it worth my money? The silver lining is I did improve from the first time I took it, Just don't understand what I am doing wrong. I must be reading the questions differently or mis-understanding the concept they are trying to test because when I looked at the breakdown many of the topics I treat daily and feel very comfortable with. Any advice would be extremely welcome, and words of support as well as I am feeling pretty low right now.

Congrats to everyone that passed- Medic im also in the same boat as you... failed twice now and honestly dont know what to do because I felt confident after the exam this year and felt that I prepared well. I was never a great test taker but never failed any USMLEs, and did well in med/grad school (as an mdphd), floor evaluations have always been stellar, I find value and reward in the kind of patient interactions I am having, and doing well as a clinical fellow at a reputable institution. I am devastated that I have to wait another year to take this again, now for the third time-

 

[dendro]

What browser is everyone using to see the score report? All I get is the white wheel of incompetence. I've tried Microsoft edge, internet explorer, chrome, and firefox. Downloads for Safari are no longer supported for PCs. Any tips?

 

[ortnakas]

For next year’s peeps:

2021: Monday, October 11 @ 1149 Eastern (followed shortly by website crash for a couple hours)
2020: Wednesday, October 14 @ 646 am
2019: Monday, September 30 @ 943am
2018: Thursday, October 18 @ 735pm
2017: Monday, October 23 @ 1014am (results rolled out over about 4 days with no rhyme nor reason to the order)
2016: Saturday, October 15 @951 pm (snafu on the website as results rolled in over the next 12 hours or so)
2015: Thursday, October 8 @ 817AM
2014: Monday, October 6 @ 1059AM
2013: Monday, October 7 @ 323 AM (seriously)
2012: Thursday, October 4 @ 814 AM
2011: Wednesday, November 2 @ 1033 AM
Unable to find 2010, but it was prior to November

 

[elgaeCB]

Passed. Got a 628. First pass MKSAP 68% and UW average was like 68-70% (close to 80th percentile iirc). My ITE's weren't great, less than 50th percentile for all of them. I definitely realized I needed to pass the first time because I wouldn't get time to study in fellowship. So I read all of MKSAP, then did all of UWorld, then tried redoing UWorld but ran out of time because fellowship was hard. My study strategy was to do 40 questions a day, and I managed to finish both qbanks in about 2 months or so. I think what contributed to my success was knowing the questions so well that I started being able to anticipate exactly what they were trying to ask halfway through the question, which I felt could only be done after you did so many qbank questions.

In the end, I think I overstudied for it and it made me a very cranky person towards the end of the study period, which I sort of regret. But at least it's done. The test itself was awful, and I felt awful after the test. I think a large portion of it is useless and the test needs to be redone.

 

[DrMetal]

Take no pride in this accomplishment, for all it means is that you knew how to study for and pass someone's version of a multiple-guess medical exam, and taking exams is something you've already demonstrated aptitude in.

Take the utmost pride in completing a pre-medical curriculum in college (no small feat), completing medical school, a residency, and +/- a fellowship.
Take the utmost pride in the high-quality healthcare you've already been delivering (regardless of board certification status) to your patients, who couldn't care less about this silly credential.

Also, please consider joining an alternative BCing body, such as the NBPAS.

Now, if I'm so adamantly against BC, why would I suggest joining another BCing body? Because we need this competition: it is via competition and fractionation that we bring down the evil house. In 1944, members of the Nazi party fractioned off eventually helping yield Hilter's necessary demise.

Did I just compare the ABIM to the Third Reich? No . . .well, maybe a little, I'll stop here.

 

[Temper888]

Got 635. I had 39/25/47 on ITE's. My Step scores were not great. I mainly did UWorld and did physiology for cardio and pulm and acid base topics from awesome review. If I had to do this again, I would really try to learn concepts from Uworld and supplement with first aid or awesome review.

 

[ilovecorgis]

I fortunately passed but have no idea what my score was. I’m also getting the white wheel of death whenever I try to access the score report. I’m historically an average test-taker on USMLE exams.

I went through MKSAP exactly one time during my study period (vacation at the end of 3rd year) and religiously reviewed why I got questions wrong. On my weaker topics (identified from MKSAP questions and ITE scores), I would supplement with UpToDate reading. I felt the real questions were quite similar in format to MKSAP.

A part of me wondered whether I would regret not doing Uworld, but in hindsight I’m happy I focused on only MKSAP. Glad to be done with this silly exam.

 

[Doxycycline25]

Passed the ABIM with a 605. ITE score were 47/57/10. 3rd year scores were really low due to not studying because of covid disrupting all of our lectures & me being in the ICU or floors all the time.
I studied Mksap the entire 3 years but MKSAP is useless for boards although it is excellent for concept building and for you as a clinician. For the boards I did Uworld and Awesome Review. I scored around 65% on Uworld first pass. Awesome review I did twice and I cannot emphasize how much it helped me. It was like it opened up my mind to look at questions differently and figure out what they are asking with no info or esoteric info. Serious studying for 3 months. I had a lot of useless questions on oncology on my exam and that was my lowest scoring area. Had a lot of questions on CVS, ID and GI which were my highest scoring areas. In retrospect, I could have studied less but scoring so low on my ITE convinced me that needed to be more proactive. However, this exam is not all representative of how I treat or manage patients in real life so in my POV, pretty useless as a doctor.

 

[Doxycycline25]

What browser is everyone using to see the score report? All I get is the white wheel of incompetence. I've tried Microsoft edge, internet explorer, chrome, and firefox. Downloads for Safari are no longer supported for PCs. Any tips?

Try going through the link they sent you in the email on your smart phone now, its working. Wasn't working for me earlier.

 

[nets445]

Passed right around the mean score.

I used did both MKSAP and Uworld and my incorrects for each one. I also used the boards basics book. No dedicated study time due to busy fellowship but I started studying around February, doing 20-30 questions a day.

My ITE percentiles were horrendous, 8th, 13th, 8th respectively for PGY1-3. The real exam is easier than ITE in my opinion. It is a mix between Uworld and MKSAP. The question stems on the exam are similar length to MKSAP and the question trickery/answer choices is similar to Uworld. My recommendation for future test takers is to memorize/read the boards basics book like the Bible. Memorize the order of things too. If there are many diagnostic tests you can order for a condition, know which one is the best option. If there are many risk factors for something, know which one is the biggest risk factor. Honestly, I could have gotten at least 10 additional questions correct if I had done one more pass of the BB book. So many of the questions on the real test made you choose between two correct answer choices but one was better, and the BB book will tell you which is better.

Good luck to all future test takers!

 

[LifetimeUnderachiever]

Passed - 445. Just relieved to be over with this test.

Below average Step scores, but all passes. Don't remember my ITE scores, but they were all low (3rd yr was like 10th percentile or something like that) - I never studied for any ITE. I only prepped for ABIM with Med Study and UWorld - I did each once (only made it about 85% of the way through UW). UW percentage was right on par with the average. Still passed.

Just thought I'd throw some atypical SDN scores out there for any future fellow lifetime underachievers who come around stalking this thread for stats and hope.

 

[mylohyoid28]

I passed below the mean score. My ITE percentiles were 60/66/75. I did MKSAP throughout residency. I did UWORLD 2x - once during third year slowly, and once over a 2 month dedicated study period. I finished UWORLD the first time in the 75th percentile- same as my 3rd year ITE. I am so happy to have passed this wretched exam, but I scored a good chunk below the average. So the ABIM definitely did not align with my performance during residency and studying. I am really glad I went through my incorrect questions on uworld near the end of my study period. Also: BOARD BASICS IS THE BOMB.

 

[dendro]

I passed near the mean.

Study strategy:
-MKSAP x2
-UWORLD 1x, then repeated missed questions
-fair amount of NEJM qbank
-read all of MKSAP text
-watched ACP videos
-board basics x1

Best qbank: UWORLD

 

[Octreotide]

Some hope for those who haven’t done well on ITE. Passed around mean score. ITEs we’re 16th percentile PGY1 then <10th percentile PGY2-3.

Did MKSAP x2. UW x2. That is all.

 

[Splenda88]

Passed! I can see on the portal that I am certified. I can’t get to my score but I don’t even care. I also no longer care about how I did on AOBIM.

Do employers use AOBIM/ABIM interchangeably?

 

[raspberryberet]

I don’t understand the scoring…I got an 84% raw score but that somehow translated to just a 547?

 

[mylohyoid28]

I don’t understand the scoring…I got an 84% raw score but that somehow translated to just a 547?

Where do you see a percentage raw score? I can only find the 3 digit number on mine.

 

[BigGAC1]

I don’t understand the scoring…I got an 84% raw score but that somehow translated to just a 547?

Where did you find your raw score? Am I just blind? I don't see a raw score anywhere on my report...?

 

[raspberryberet]

Where did you find your raw score? Am I just blind? I don't see a raw score anywhere on my report...?

There’s not a percentage raw score given, you just add up the total number of missed topics. At first I thought oh it’s not the same thing as number of missed questions, since you can miss multiple questions in one topic…but then I scrolled down to a topic that specified that I missed two questions in that area. So basically, it tells you exactly how many questions you missed

 

[ortnakas]

Do employers use AOBIM/ABIM interchangeably?

A lot (most?) do outside of academics. It wasn’t that long ago that a lot of DOs were in AOA residencies and could only do AOBIM board certifications. They were still gainfully employed.

 

[paki20]

There’s not a percentage raw score given, you just add up the total number of missed topics. At first I thought oh it’s not the same thing as number of missed questions, since you can miss multiple questions in one topic…but then I scrolled down to a topic that specified that I missed two questions in that area. So basically, it tells you exactly how many questions you missed

You don't know the denominator since some test questions don't count.

Also I'm convinced they grade this based on difficulty of questions and percentile answering a particular question correctly among test takers over the years otherwise their standard deviations that they break down subject wise don't make sense.

 

[Wishing4MD]

Do our PDs receive our score report or just that we passed?

 

[Splenda88]

Do our PDs receive our score report or just that we passed?

I think there was a box to check off when sign up for the exam about letting your program see your score.

 

[ortnakas]

Do our PDs receive our score report or just that we passed?

I believe they get the score report but not immediately.

 

[sammyOMM]

Is it worth a rescore if within 5 points of a pass? Or a waste of money?

 

[iamironman]

Some hope for those who haven’t done well on ITE. Passed around mean score. ITEs we’re 16th percentile PGY1 then <10th percentile PGY2-3.

Did MKSAP x2. UW x2. That is all.

Congratulations. Did you do MKSAP text or just qbank?
Board basics?

 

[nolayup]

Passed- 420s. Not the best test taker, below average on all of my board exams thus far and poor ITE scores.

Had to squeeze in studying during fellowship. I did MKSAP x 2, half of UWORLD and got through about 3/4 of board basics. Felt somewhat decent coming out of the exam, relieved to be done.

I'd definitely recommend trying to get through MKSAP and then focusing exclusively on UWORLD and board basics. I feel like the combination allows you to learn the material well and then exposes you to the various way a question can be asked.

Best of luck to everyone and appreciated reading all of the advice on here during my prep.

 

[darklabel]

Congratulations. Did you do MKSAP text or just qbank?
Board basics?

Not Op, but highly recommend it. I also had similar ITEs. Shows you what the best answer is in a lot of questions that will be asked. If I had to redo it I would've spent more time on Board Basics.

 

[WhiteCoatWonder]

congrats to those who passed, pouring one out for those needing to retake.

like many among us, i walked out thinking id failed but i literally *just passed* by a wee hair's breadth. i've no doubt that it was maybe a handful of questions and a couple of prayers that got me over the finish line. i had no idea what i was doing and felt the blueprint was...useless.

method: completed MKSAP x1, medstudy x1 over like 2-3 months and made flashcards for what i missed on both. i looked at the flashcards most days of the week and (maybe regrettably?) the night before the exam. i have no excuse for not revisiting my old friend uworld.

do more than me and easily succeed, lol.