Critical Care Medicine Pass Rate

What do I do if I fail the Critical Care Medicine board exam?

The first thing you should do is just take it easy, sleep on it. Give yourself a few days, a week or two to come to terms with what has happened. Your next exam is six months to a year away. Dr. Jack has more advice in this video, What Do You Do If You Fail Your Medical Board Exam?

Critical Care Medicine Examination Scoring

Overall performance is reported on a standardized score scale ranging from 200 to 800, with a mean of 500. To pass the Critical Care board examination, your standardized score must equal or exceed the standardized passing score. Your performance on the entire exam determines your pass-fail decision.

The passing standard for the Critical Care Medicine boards is set by ABIM committee using standard-setting techniques that follow best practices in assessment. Because the passing standard is based on a specified level of mastery of Critical Care Medicine content, no predetermined percentage of examinees will pass or fail the exam.

Critical Care Medicine Examination Format

The Critical Care Medicine Initial Certification board exam is composed of up to 240 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions. Most questions describe patient scenarios and ask about the tasks performed by physicians in the course of practice. (Note that around 40 of these are new questions that do not count in your score.) The traditional, 10-year MOC exam contains up to 220 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions (approximately 50 are new questions that do not count). Example of a single-best-answer multiple-choice question format:

A 26-year-old woman who is 20 weeks pregnant is referred to your office due to a murmur. She reports dyspnea, fatigue, and ankle edema. Careful auscultation at the apex reveals a loud S1, an opening snap, and a low diastolic rumble. Which of the following statements is correct regarding the patient’s symptoms?

◯ A. These are normal symptoms of pregnancy and up to 90% of pregnant women have a murmur, so no further work up needs to be done ◯ B. These symptoms and findings are consistent with mitral regurgitation, which is well tolerated in pregnancy and — after confirmation with echocardiography — no further treatment is likely to be necessary ◯ C. These are normal symptoms and findings in pregnancy but confirmation with echocardiography is appropriate for reassurance ◯ D. These symptoms and findings are consistent with mitral stenosis, which can be a significant problem in pregnancy; prompt diagnosis and initiation of medical therapy is appropriate