Are You Ready for the ABEM Qualifying Exam?

The ABEM Qualifying Exam is fast approaching. This comprehensive initial board certification exam contains 305 single-best-answer multiple-choice questions and covers the full scope of the 2022 EM Model. The Qualifying Exam is administered at Pearson VUE centers across the United States each year.

The exam blueprint is outlined by ABEM as:

• 1.0 Signs, Symptoms and Presentations: 10%
• 2.0 Abdominal and Gastrointestinal Disorders: 7%
• 3.0 Cardiovascular Disorders: 10%
• 4.0 Cutaneous Disorders: 3%
• 5.0 Endocrine, Metabolic, and Nutritional Disorders: 5%
• 6.0 Environmental Disorders: 2%
• 7.0 Head, Ear, Eye, Nose, and Throat Disorders: 4%
• 8.0 Hematologic Disorders: 3%
• 9.0 Immune System Disorders: 2%
• 10.0 Systemic Infectious Disorders: 7%
• 11.0 Musculoskeletal Disorders (Nontraumatic): 3%
• 12.0 Nervous System Disorders: 6%
• 13.0 Obstetrics and Gynecology: 3%
• 14.0 Psychobehavioral Disorders: 2%
• 15.0 Renal and Urogenital Disorders: 3%
• 16.0 Thoracic-Respiratory Disorders: 7%
• 17.0 Toxicologic Disorders: 4%
• 18.0 Traumatic Disorders: 9%
• 19.0 Procedures and Skills: 8%
• 20.0 Other Components: 2%

The exam also contains:

• Critical Acuity: 30%
• Emergent Acuity: 40%
• Lower Acuity: 21%
• No Acuity: 9%
• Pediatrics: 8%
• Geriatrics: 6%

In addition, ABEM has updated the style and scope of its board questions, including those on the Qualifying Exam. PEER mirrors the latest writing standards, which is why you’ll find that PEER questions are the closest to the real ABEM board exams.

ACEP currently offers multiple ways to prepare for the Qualifying Exam:

• EM residents with access to PEER for Physicians through their programs can self-launch the PEER Mock EM Qualifying Exam from the Stup Plan or Exams within the course;
• Graduating residents can purchase PEER for Physicians to take advantage of the full 3,300+ board-quality questions in the bank as well as the mock and simulated Qualifying Exams that are integrated into the product; or
• New attendings can purchase the PEER Mock EM Qualifying Exam and Review as a stand-alone exam from ACEP Learn and complete it as a self-test and study module, if they no longer have access to PEER for Physicians through their residency program or want a simple way to cram in the weeks before the exam.

In addition, program directors who subscribe their residency programs to PEER for Programs can assign the PEER Mock EM Qualifying Exam to those residents who need to prepare. Just choose the exam from the menu in PEER BluePrint Curriculums and add it to an assignment. Student performance can then be tracked via PEER Console Analytics.

If your program does not have access to PEER for Programs, contact us today to get started with a 30-day free trial.

Good luck on the Qualifying Exam!