Everything about the ABEM Certifying Exam

The Certifying Exam format

How the exam is structured, how many cases of each kind, and how long you get.

What changed in the new format

The move to clinical and communication case buckets, and what it means for studying.

How to pass the Certifying Exam

The habit that matters most, a structure for every case, and the common failures.

Clinical decision-making cases

One patient worked through out loud with an examiner: workup, treatment, disposition.

Prioritization cases

A live multi-patient board, and deciding who gets seen and treated first.

Procedure cases

Performing a procedure out loud: indication, equipment, landmarks, steps, and aftermath.

Ultrasound cases

Choosing the probe, reading the image out loud, and telling artifact from anatomy.

Reassessment cases

Re-evaluating a patient whose picture has changed since another physician saw them.

Difficult conversation cases

Delivering bad news — a serious diagnosis or a death notification — to a live patient.

Managing conflict cases

A reluctant consultant, a patient leaving against advice, an angry family member.

Patient-centered communication cases

Uncovering the concern a patient has not said out loud, and addressing it plainly.

The EM procedure quiz

Card-graded practice on the procedures the exam expects you to know cold.