Medical Knowledge, Patient Care, and Procedural Skills
- 1.0 Signs, Symptoms and Presentations: 9%
- 2.0 Abdominal & Gastrointestinal Disorders: 8%
- 3.0 Cardiovascular Disorders: 10%
- 4.0 Cutaneous Disorders: 1%
- 5.0 Endocrine, Metabolic & Nutritional Disorders: 2%
- 6.0 Environmental Disorders: 3%
- 7.0 Head, Ear, Eye, Nose & Throat Disorders: 5%
- 8.0 Hematologic Disorders: 2%
- 9.0 Immune System Disorders: 2%
- 10.0 Systemic Infectious Disorders: 5%
- 11.0 Musculoskeletal Disorders (Non-traumatic): 3%
- 12.0 Nervous System Disorders: 5%
- 13.0 Obstetrics and Gynecology: 4%
- 14.0 Psychobehavioral Disorders: 4%
- 15.0 Renal and Urogenital Disorders: 3%
- 16.0 Thoracic-Respiratory Disorders: 8%
- 17.0 Toxicologic Disorders: 5%
- 18.0 Traumatic Disorders: 10%
- 19.0 Procedures & Skills: 8%
- 20.0 Other Components: 3%
- Total: 100%
Acuity Frames: Target (± 5%)
- Critical: 30%
- Emergent: 40%
- Lower Acuity: 21%
- None: 9%
Physician Tasks
For this dimension, the Board has assigned the following specific percentage weights to the Modifying Factor of age:
- Pediatrics: 8% minimum
- Geriatrics: 6% minimum
Answering Exam Questions
Each exam question has only one correct answer and each question is worth one point. Only one answer can be selected for each question and you should try to answer as many questions as possible. Each question answered correctly is counted in the total correct score.
Unanswered questions are treated as incorrect. Incorrect answers do not count in the total correct score, nor is there a subtraction from the total correct score for incorrect answers.
Your best strategy for completing the exam is to first complete the initial book, answering all questions with your initial best answer. Three references are available during the examination: a list of common abbreviations used in the exam, a list of normal laboratory values, and a customized version of the online resource UpToDate®. Please note that the correct answers to questions are based on a variety of peer-reviewed literature and verified by expert consensus. Not all test questions were developed according to UpToDate and any corresponding articles are listed for reference purposes only. ABEM makes no claim about the accuracy of the information provided by UpToDate. If you are unfamiliar with using UpToDate, please visit their website and take a tutorial.
You may flag questions you would like to return to for later review. The computer system facilitates this test-taking strategy by requiring one initial pass through an examination book before allowing you to select and go to a specific question in that examination book, in any desired order. Once an initial pass-through is completed, you may review all of the questions in that book in any order you choose before selecting the “End Review” button to finish the examination book. Once you exit an examination book by clicking on the “End Review” button, that section of the examination is completed, and you may not re-enter it.
Some questions are not scored and are used only to assure future question quality. These field test questions will not be apparent to the candidate. Including them on the exam allows ABEM to conduct research to determine if the questions are appropriate for scoring future examinations.