ABEM EM study plan
ABEM EM · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Emergency Medicine (Qualifying Exam and Certifying Exam content)
Map every Domain 1 content area against a self-rated confidence score to rank weak areas
Build a 60-question baseline practice set weighted toward high-yield resuscitative topics
Write a one-page error log template that captures the reasoning flaw behind each missed item
Your checkpoint
Completed confidence heat map plus scored 60-question baseline with itemized error log
Emergency Medicine (Qualifying Exam and Certifying Exam content)
Drill cardiovascular and respiratory emergencies by teaching each algorithm aloud from memory
Rehearse airway and ventilation decision points until sequencing is automatic
Convert every missed baseline item into a flashcard tied to a specific management step
Your checkpoint
A 40-card personal flashcard deck covering cardiovascular, respiratory, and airway management
Emergency Medicine (Qualifying Exam and Certifying Exam content)
Work through toxicologic and environmental emergencies using a toxidrome-first reasoning routine
Practice neurologic and infectious emergency cases under timed conditions
Summarize each case's disposition decision and defend it in two sentences
Your checkpoint
Ten timed case write-ups with disposition rationale for tox, neuro, and infectious emergencies
Emergency Medicine (Qualifying Exam and Certifying Exam content) & Improvement in Medical Practice
Complete a second 60-question Domain 1 practice set and compare accuracy to baseline
Identify the three recurring error patterns across both practice sets
Draft a personal improvement plan that converts each error pattern into a weekly practice habit
Your checkpoint
Midpoint score comparison report plus a written improvement plan with three tracked habits
Emergency Medicine (MyEMCert continuing certification modules)
Inventory the MyEMCert module topics and rank them by personal knowledge gap
Complete one full practice module under real time constraints
Extract every knowledge gap from the module into a prioritized study list
Your checkpoint
Prioritized MyEMCert gap list with one timed practice module score recorded
Emergency Medicine (MyEMCert continuing certification modules) & Improvement in Medical Practice
Close the top five gaps on the prioritized list using spaced retrieval
Apply a plan-do-study-act cycle to one clinical or study process and document the result
Re-test the previously missed module items to confirm retention
Your checkpoint
Closed-loop gap tracker showing five gaps resolved and one documented PDSA cycle
Improvement in Medical Practice & Professionalism and Professional Standing
Audit personal documentation and communication practices against professionalism standards
Draft responses to three professionalism scenarios involving conflict, impairment, and consent
Build a quality-improvement summary linking a measured outcome to a changed practice
Your checkpoint
Professionalism scenario response set plus a one-page quality-improvement summary
Emergency Medicine (Qualifying Exam and Certifying Exam content) & Emergency Medicine (MyEMCert continuing certification modules) & Improvement in Medical Practice & Professionalism and Professional Standing
Run a full-length mixed-domain simulation under exam timing
Review every missed item and confirm each maps to a closed gap
Finalize a maintenance schedule that sustains spaced review across all four domains
Your checkpoint
Final simulation score report with gap-closure confirmation and a written maintenance schedule
Milestones
Week 2: Baseline error log reviewed and at least 40 flashcards created with no unresolved high-yield gaps
Week 4: Second Domain 1 practice score improves over baseline and three recurring error patterns are documented
Week 6: At least five MyEMCert gaps closed on re-test and one PDSA cycle documented end to end
Week 8: Full-length simulation completed with all missed items mapped to closed gaps and a maintenance schedule in place