UWorld American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) QBank Review

Each year, as thousands of physicians begin studying for the internal medicine boards, an age-old question comes up: Which question bank (Qbank) should they choose? This is a good question because no two Qbanks are exactly alike, no matter which exam you are studying for.

This post will go over the UWorld American Board of Internal Medicine Qbank. We’ll be taking a close look at the pros and cons of the UWorld QBank by examining its user interface, question style and format, links to resources, and other features you’ll want to be aware of when making an informed decision on which resource to use.

Likeness to the ABIM Exam

On the ABIM website, you can find a test simulator function, which will give you a good idea of how the real ABIM exam will look. Based on this tool, you can feel confident that UWorld’s user interface mirrors the ABIM exam. In addition, the UWorld interface allows you to cross out answers, highlight text, take notes, and access a calculator, just like the real exam.

Figure 1: ABIM Exam Format from ABIM Tutorial

Content Distribution

The ABIM Exam Blueprint, published by the ABIM and available to the public, displays the approximate percentages for the different subject areas covered on the exam (see below).  Although there may be slight variations on your specific exam, this guide is accepted as the most accurate indicator of what to expect on exam day.

Figure 2: Content Category from ABIM’s Internal Medicine Exam Blueprint

The distribution of UWorld’s questions closely approximates the ABIM percentages, typically falling within 3% of the percentages outlined in the ABIM Blueprint. The exceptions to this are the Hematology/Oncology questions (7% of the total questions on UWorld vs ~12% on ABIM’s Blueprint) and Nervous System questions (~8% on UWorld vs 4% on ABIM’s Blueprint).

Question Style and Format

Now let’s get into the UWorld ABIM QBank’s question difficulty, question length, and quality of explanations:

UWorld questions are slightly more difficult than those on the boards. On ABIM boards the information you need is generally given to you in the question, so there isn’t a lot of filling in the blanks like there is in clinical practice. For UWorld, some questions are vague, and you need to make assumptions and read between the lines for many of the them. This has its plusses and minuses. The plus is that the UWorld QBank really makes you notice details and know your content to answer the vaguer questions. The downside is that some of the questions seem “unfair” to make certain assumptions, which was not how it was on the actual boards. In terms of question length, many of the UWorld paragraphs that precede the question are longer than those on the boards.

Where UWorld excels is the explanations for the answer choices. UWorld has in-depth explanations with helpful charts and diagrams. If you do multiple GI questions in a row, for examples, the same charts and graphs will come up in the similar questions so you can thoroughly review the content. There are also colorful illustrations that demonstrate the concepts. These explanations really hit at the “why.” There are links to references at the bottom of each question including a summary statement at the end of the explanations for supplemental reading. While there aren’t books with reading for UWorld, the explanation paragraphs with illustrations, charts, and graphs provide a great framework for answering similar questions in the future.

Answer Explanations

Where UWorld excels is in the explanations for the answer choices. UWorld provides in-depth explanations with helpful charts and diagrams for each question in the ABIM QBank. For example, if you do multiple GI questions in a row, the same charts and graphs will come up in similar questions so that you can thoroughly review the content and consolidate the information. Also, colorful illustrations demonstrate the concepts you are reviewing, making good memorization aids.

Moreover, the explanations nail down the “why” aspect for each question, which is great for gaining a deeper understanding of important concepts. You can also find a summary statement at the end of each explanation and links to references for supplemental reading. Even though UWorld doesn’t come with accompanying books, the explanation paragraphs with illustrations, charts, and graphs are comprehensive enough to provide an equivalent.

On that note, we want to touch on one disadvantage of UWorld compared to other ABIM QBanks: no accompanying books. If you are someone who absorbs content through reading and enjoys the MKSAP books, you might be a bit disappointed to know that, currently, no books accompany the UWorld ABIM QBank. However, reading book content doesn’t fit everyone’s learning style, and many of us find it challenging to read chapters in a book after spending 12+ hours at work. If you prefer a more active learning style, be assured that UWorld’s QBank does provide great explanations for both the right and wrong answers.

Performance Data

Another thing that sets UWorld’s QBank apart is its valuable individual performance data. It’s straightforward to see how many questions you have left, what percentage you got correct, and more. There are currently over 1,200 questions in the UWorld QBank, and the main Performance page acts as a dashboard to monitor your progress. It also features a bell curve that illustrates how your scores rank compared to others using the ABIM UWorld QBank.

Figure 3: Overall Performance

Within the Reports section of the Performance tab, you can see scores for specific practice areas. For example, although many residency programs are inpatient-heavy when it comes to clinical time, a large portion of the ABIM exam is focused on outpatient medicine and emergency room care. As such, you can see the breakdown of how you do on questions within different practice settings; this breakdown can help you identify areas that deserve more of your attention when studying.

Figure 4: Performance by Practice Setting

You can also see your performance sorted by Systems. There, you can sort by the headers: % Correct, % Incorrect, and p-rank (percentile rank, or where you fall compared to others). Once you have answered at least half of the QBank, this section becomes very helpful because you will start seeing patterns/trends based on your own correct/incorrect percentages and your p-rank. This can also help you focus on areas where you’d like to improve.

Figure 5: Performance by Systems

How Does UWorld Stack up to MKSAP, Another Popular ABIM QBank?

ACP’s MKSAP is another popular choice for ABIM board studying. MKSAP questions are slightly easier with little to no reading between the lines, which more closely resembles the ABIM exam. However, there are less ways to look at metrics and the website is less user friendly. In addition, the diagrams/charts are not as helpful (mostly lists). A benefit of MKSAP is that you get the books to learn content you’re not familiar with, in addition to the questions. MKSAP Complete, which includes print books and online content, comes in at $699 for members ($989 for nonmembers, $539 for residents/fellows), and you keep this for life.

Conclusion

The UWorld QBank is a well-curated and easy-to-use resource for studying and provides good coverage of tested subject area content. Although UWorld does not have supplemental books, it does provide thorough explanations and summary statements, as well as links to resources at the end of each question.

If you used UWorld for your USMLE studying and found it helpful, you will likely love the UWorld ABIM QBank too. To succeed on ABIM boards, you will need to put in the necessary time and effort, and it is our view that UWorld can help you achieve that success.

If you would like expert help integrating the UWorld ABIM QBank into your ABIM study schedule or need further assistance studying for your exam, you can feel free to contact one of our qualified ABIM tutors, who would be happy to help.

We hope you’ve found this review of the UWorld American Board of Internal Medicine QBank helpful!

Originally guest posted on the UWorld blog. Article found here.