orsabi bernadine wrenah
Melissa Russian
Maximize the time you have for internal medicine board prep and lifelong learning with NEJM Knowledge+ Internal Medicine Board Review. Developed with time-strapped physicians like you in mind, our ABIM board review will help you successfully prepare for the Internal Medicine Board Exam or ABIM Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA), improve your medical practice, and earn CME credits and ABIM MOC points as you go.
Other programs that claim to have adaptive learning, fall short. NEJM Knowledge+ Internal Medicine Board Review uses true adaptive learning technology to quickly identify areas of knowledge where you have gaps or need reinforcement. Unlike other board review programs, it delivers more of what you need to learn and less of what you already know, saving you valuable study time.
It does this by first assessing your existing knowledge and then leveraging AI to create the perfect learning path for you. This AI-driven technology was designed based on the best evidence about how people absorb and retain knowledge. The system also allows you to refresh your knowledge of completed learning modules or practice exams at any time to prevent memory decay. This allows you to maximize your time preparing for the Internal Medicine Board Exam or LKA, while also keeping your clinical knowledge sharp so you can deliver optimal patient care.
NEJM Knowledge+ Internal Medicine Board Review delivers the most comprehensive question bank anywhere, along with two timed practice exams to help you gain the confidence you need to pass your board exam or LKA. Our question bank and practice exams are mapped to the ABIM blueprint and reflect the real-world challenges you face every day in your practice.
NEJM Knowledge+ Internal Medicine Board Review offers two (2) practice exams as another measure to track your performance and prepare you for test day. Questions in the practice exams align with ABIM exam questions and with the most common, relevant, and challenging clinical scenarios.
This guide will cover the internal medicine clerkship, including when to place this rotation, how to make the most of your rotation, internal medicine resources, the Shelf exam, and the pros and cons of pursuing this specialty.
The internal medicine clerkship represents the gateway to numerous medical specialties and opens the path to fellowships in cardiology, oncology, nephrology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, hematology, infectious diseases, endocrinology, and pulmonary disease.
But whether internal medicine sounds up your alley or not, the internal medicine clerkship is extremely important due to its impact on the Step 2 CK exam. The USMLE 2 CK exam contains 50-60% internal medicine questions. Since Step 1 is now pass/fail, the need to ace the internal medicine Shelf exam in order to be prepared for 2 CK is greater than ever.
Not all schools offer an outpatient portion of the IM clerkship; however, if they do, this portion of your rotation will be less intense. At this point, you may have the opportunity to choose a sub-specialty clinic. For example, if endocrinology interests you, arrange with an endocrinology attending for your outpatient rotation. This time enables a medical student to:
Below is a list of high-yield topics for your internal medicine rotation. Having a good understanding of these topics early on will prepare you for practice questions and rounds to impress your attending.
Be picky about your patients to develop practical competencies. At the beginning of your rotation, make a list consisting of the skills you desire to build. Then consider the inpatients who have a pathology that requires those skills. Take a patient with renal colic to learn how to take an ultrasound of the kidneys. Building your experience in this way ensures you will have those diagnostic tools at your disposal by the end of the rotation.
Internal medicine has a wide variety of conditions. Oftentimes, there are certain calculations that need to be done to objectively approach care. Many of these calculations can be found on various phone apps, such as MDCalc. You can make these calculations ahead of time and present them on rounds when appropriate to impress your attending.
We recommend the AnKing Anki Deck or Step-Up to Medicine, depending on if you prefer flashcards or books. If you prefer videos, the Boards & Beyond videos + White Coat Companion study aid or OnlineMedEd are both great resources as well.
One should provide you with enough information. Try to quickly pre-read some of these resources to understand the general concepts, then jump into the questions. After completing and reviewing a UWorld block, refer back to these resources to fill in any gaps.
The most important resources for internal medicine are the question banks, which includes either UWorld or AMBOSS. Both are excellent resources for your internal medicine rotation. Schedule at least one block of questions each day after your wards. Think of the block like an exam (i.e., timed and random). Not only will this method help you to familiarize yourself with the time pressure from the exam, but it will also improve your retention of the material. Doing questions from various topics in the blocks is an effective study technique called the interleaving effect.
The internal medicine Shelf exam will require more intense studying given the volume of information within the clerkship. Given the internal medicine Shelf exam includes the majority of the different organ systems, it is extremely important to stay on track with your studying throughout the rotation. With over a thousand UWorld questions for the clerkship, cramming these last-minute questions should be avoided at all costs.
If you are an achievement-driven, type A personality, you might consider cardiology. It is one of the most competitive fellowships in a continuously changing domain. In 2021, it was also ranked as the third most compensated specialty on Medscape, with an annual compensation of $459,000.
If you are not disgusted by bowel movements and prefer procedures, then gastroenterology will be a great choice. Compensation-wise, it is at the higher end of the spectrum ($406,000). The hours are more predictable, and the calls are usually taken at home. On rare occasions, a patient may require an endoscopy in the middle of the night.
From a mental perspective, the internal medicine clerkship is a heavy clerkship. Each medical specialty requires a diagnostic prowess that has less importance in other procedural-heavy clerkships, such as surgery or OB-GYN. Nevertheless, mastering the IM clerkship will greatly enhance your Step 2 CK score, as it makes up the bulk of the exam. Another advantage is that the same mental gymnastics will ease your pediatrics and psychiatry rotations.
The internal medicine rotation is an opportunity to acquire a breadth of medical knowledge that can be applied to a wide variety of specialties and subspecialties. The rotation will put your mental abilities to the test, but everything you learn during this rotation will accelerate whichever specialty you decide to pursue.
Med School Insiders offers a number of Residency Admissions Consulting Services designed around your specific needs. We can help you prepare for residency with application editing, interview prep, and mock interviews.
At this point in your medical education, you should feel proud and excited. You may also feel a bit nervous: What should you expect when you start your intern year? Should you be doing something now to prepare? Here are some things to think about before the big day.
Start off on the right foot: Be professional by communicating all necessary information in a timely fashion. The earlier you return completed paperwork, the more time you will have to address any errors or concerns.
Note important dates: Especially the first day of orientation (it may be earlier than you think). Look for communication from your Chief Residents, which may include questions about your preferred rotations and days off.
Consider price, proximity to work, availability of public transportation, parking, neighborhood safety, and proximity to recreational activities. Some programs compile a list of apartments that might be vacated by graduating residents and available to the incoming intern class.
You likely have a clinical rotation left before you officially receive those two hard-earned letters at the end of your name. This is a great time to develop practical skills that you will need for a successful intern year. Take on as much responsibility as you can to practice basic day-to-day skills before you graduate. The processes at each hospital differ, but you can start with some effective and efficient techniques to try when faced with the bigger workload.
Use a structured sign-out format (e.g., I-PASS mnemonic for verbal handoff). Think of this as both a sign-out to the next resident and as a sign-out to yourself for the next day by writing down reminders or pending items.
NEJM Resident 360 Rotation Prep provides useful overviews of more than 30 internal medicine and pediatric rotations, with links to high-yield reviews and research articles, procedure videos, and related podcasts that take a deep dive into key topics.
Medical reference apps that you will find useful in the coming years include DynaMed, UpToDate, Epocrates, Lexicomp, Sanford Guide, Hopkins Antibiotic Guide, MDCalc, and Journal Club. Ask your residents about apps they found most useful.
Set personal goals: Find something to focus on outside of the hospital (e.g., cook a new recipe once per week or go on a hike). To keep yourself accountable, involve a loved one who can cheer you on when it comes to your well-being.
Call Number: Main Collection WB18.2 T756c 2013. Print and online available.You need exposure to high-yield cases to excel on the internal medicine clerkship and the shelf-exam. This edition presents 60 real-life cases that illustrate essential concepts. Each case includes complete discussion, clinical pearls, references, definitions of key terms, and USMLE-style review questions with detailed explanations of the correct answers. Available from the Health Sciences Library.
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