American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Certification
The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) is the only recognized Board in the specialty of internal medicine and is one of the 24 certifying boards recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties. ABIM is an independent not-for-profit organization whose certificates are recognized throughout the world as signifying a high level of physician competence. The ABIM exam can be taken at Pearson VUE testing facilities. The ABIM testing takes place 2 times per year. The exam is composed of multiple-choice questions with a single best answer, predominantly describing patient scenarios. Questions ask about the work done (that is, tasks performed) by physicians in the course of practice:- Making a diagnosis
- Ordering and interpreting results of tests
- Recommending treatment or other patient care
- Assessing risk, determining prognosis, and applying principles from epidemiologic studies
- Understanding the underlying pathophysiology of disease and basic science knowledge applicable to patient care
- Allergy/Immunology 2%
- Cardiovascular Disease 14%
- Dermatology 3%
- Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism 9%
- Gastroenterology 9%
- Geriatric Syndromes 3%
- Hematology 6%
- Infectious Disease 9%
- Nephrology/Urology 6%
- Neurology 4%
- Obstetrics/Gynecology 3%
- Medical Oncology 6%
- Ophthalmology 1%
- Otolaryngology/Dental Medicine 1%
- Psychiatry 4%
- Pulmonary Disease 9%
- Rheumatology/Orthopedics 9%
- Other 2%
- Cross-Content Category Relative Percentage
- Critical Care Medicine 10%
- Geriatric Medicine 10%
- Prevention 6%
- Women’s Health 6%
- Clinical Epidemiology 3%
- Ethics 3% Nutrition 3%
- Palliative/End-of-Life Care 3%
- Adolescent Medicine 2%
- Occupational Medicine 2%
- Patient Safety 2%
- Substance Abuse 2%


