The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) was initially founded in 1936 to answer a public call to establish more uniform standards for physicians. It is a physician-led, non-profit, independent evaluation organization driven by doctors to achieve high standards of care. It certifies 1 out of 4 physicians in the United States. There are more than 200,000 ABIM board-certified physicians across internal medicine and its 20 subspecialties. It is one of the 24 medical specialty boards that make up the… Click to Read More
How to Study for the Boards: The Dos and Don’ts of Preparing for Your Medical Board Exam
If you’re on the journey to becoming a board-certified medical professional, let me tell you firsthand how important passing the medical board exam is. I’ve been through this crucial phase myself, and I understand the pivotal role it plays in shaping your career. So, as your friendly board-certified physician, I’m here to share some personal insights on how to study for the boards, how a board review course can help, and how I conquered the board exams and helped my… Click to Read More
The Willie Sutton Board Review Strategy
Many of you know the quotation from Willie Sutton when asked why he robbed banks he replied: “Because that’s where the money is.” When seeing patients or studying for the board exam, it is equally true that time IS money. So you need to go where the money is!
So, what conclusions does that lead to in terms of what are reasonable study aids you can use to focus your time efficiently? Courses and practice exams from American Physician Institute… Click to Read More
Board Study Strategies and How You Learn
The prospect of taking a board examination can be one of the most daunting endeavors in medical education. Regardless of your level of training, the time, money, effort, and stress related to board examinations intermittently become the primary focus of your life. Some individuals appear to be “great test takers” and can breeze through these exams with ease. On the other hand, some might appear to be “horrible test takers” because they struggle at every attempt. For most of us,… Click to Read More
Board Exam Prep: Picking The Best Module
Okay, I can’t resist. Since I used to be a Magician – “Pick a module, any module, don’t let me see which one.”
If you are right out of training and your residency includes Obstetrics and a lot of hospital rotations, you might actually be able to pass any module you choose. But if you have been in practice for a while, and your interests have narrowed, then your knowledge base has probably narrowed as well. If this is the… Click to Read More
Board Prep: Five Tips to Fit Studying Into the Busy Physician’s Life
As a physician, you have a lot on your plate—a full clinic, a pile of dictations, an office meeting you are leading, followed by overnight call and a paper that you have been meaning to write for a few months. Whew! Where are you to find time to study for your boards? Well, medicine is a balancing act, and you will need to recreate that harmony to fit board studying into your busy physician’s life.
Embrace Multitasking
We all have… Click to Read More
How to Recognize “Zebras” on the American Board of Family Medicine Exam
Prepping for your Family Medicine Board Exam? Get a comprehensive Family Medicine Board Review Course from The Pass Machine to get your board prep on track.
The Family Medicine boards present multiple-choice questions that are fair and clinically relevant with pride. Simply meaning, they are not trying to trick you. Most of the case vignettes present a patient with a common form of the condition or disease, as these common forms are the ones assessed and treated by most physicians.… Click to Read More
Dark Alley’s and the Internet When Studying for Your Boards
No, I’m not talking about the “dark web” or anything controversial. I’m talking about something that is much more subtle and potentially devastating to your board review strategies – the allure of more interesting things you will encounter while looking up answers you need.
I treat looking up a fact I need while studying for the boards like going into a dark alley. I increase my alertness, look around for what I came for, grab it, and get out quick.… Click to Read More
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Assessed My Knowledge for the Boards
Studying for a board exam can seem like a daunting task; the amount of knowledge for the boards can be overwhelming. Finding time to fit studying into our busy lives is a struggle. Our natural inclination may be to just power through all of the topics as best as we can. How do you start the process, and where do you focus?
Taking the time to assess our knowledge gaps and approach to questions is a critical first step. It… Click to Read More
Pump Iron for Your Board Exam
I think you should pump iron for your board exam – both literally and figuratively.
A board exam is unlike almost anything else we encounter in our busy daily work as physicians. It requires several hours of extended, high performance to interface with the material presented, interpret it, and come up with the answers they are looking for.
To succeed in an environment like this, I suggest it is highly relevant to practice up to this level of intensity of… Click to Read More
Decrease Study Time…Increase Impact
Whether preparing for an exam related to maintenance of certification, a primary exam of certification, or some other type of important exam, you undoubtedly have many reading materials at your disposal. In these scenarios, our effort is likely devoted to reading and re-reading material again and again. Unfortunately, though, scientific literature actually indicates that this sort of process of learning is not optimal, and may actually take a fair bit more time than a much simpler process—trying to recall the… Click to Read More
VIDEO: 5 Tips to Minimize Procrastinating on Your Board Exam Studies
Welcome. It’s Dr. Jack and I have 5 tips for you on how to minimize procrastinating on your board exam studies.
Tip 1: De-Emotionalize the Job You Have to Do
My first tip is based on a thought experiment. I’d like you to take a minute to imagine that you have a clone of yourself, and your clone is identical to you. They have the same bright smile and winning personality that you do. There is only a single… Click to Read More












