FUNDAMENTALS

GENERAL INFORMATION

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Certifying Examination in Cardiovascular Disease takes place each year in the fall. Applicants with special conditions who require longer testing durations generally take the exam over a 4-day period starting approximately 2 weeks after the general exam. Registration for the board examination begins in early March and lasts until early May. There is a late registration period, which incurs a late fee (generally around $400), which lasts from early May until early June. After the late registration fee deadline has passed, registration is no longer possible. Once registered, the opportunity to cancel registration (for an 85% refund) lasts until early September. After this deadline, cancellation is still possible up until 1 day prior to the exam at a 50% refund. At the Web site, www. abim.org, applicants can register for the exam online. Other valuable information such as coding sheets and a simulated computer question format for the exam are also found at this site. As registration test centers often fill up rapidly, early registration is key to assure the ability to take the exam at a nearby test center. Test results are typically first available on the ABIM Web site in early February.

For those recertifying, the test is offered twice annually, once in early April and again in early November. The deadlines to register for each test administration are in mid-February and mid-August, respectively. Board certification in internal medicine is not needed to recertify for the cardiology boards. In addition to passing the board exam, those seeking recertification must also have a valid and unrestricted license to practice medicine and obtain 100 points of self-evaluation via modules available on the ABIM Web site.

FORMAT

The cardiovascular diseases board exam is taken over the course of 2 days for first-time takers and 1 day for those taking it to recertify (those recertifying are exempt from the ECG and imaging sections). The first day is a full day consisting of four 2-hour blocks consisting of 200 multiple choice questions. The second day is a half-day consisting of an ECG section of 35 to 40 tracings lasting 2 hours 15 minutes and an imaging section lasting 2 hours consisting of 35 to 40 video images that include echocardiograms, ventriculograms, aortograms, and angiograms. Table 1.1 delineates the weighted subject content for the exam. Many cardiology trainees do not have sufficient exposure to peripheral vascular disease, pharmacology, and congenital heart disease during their training and must overcome this deficiency during their preparation for the examination. For the ECG section, a brief one- or two-line clinical vignette is provided with each ECG tracing. The test taker then must code relevant findings using a coding sheet, available in advance for review at the ABIM Web site. Similarly, for the imaging section, coding sheets are provided to capture the various findings. Of note, the coding sheet for the imaging section was updated for the 2011 exam. Test takers must make sure they review the updated coding sheet prior to the test. For the 2011 exam, coding sheets could be found at http://www.abim.org/pdf/cert-related/cvd_sample_cases.pdf.