ABIM Hematology study plan
ABIM Hematology · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 6 hours per week
Medical knowledge & Patient care and procedural skills
Map the ABIM hematology blueprint to a personal topic checklist, tagging each item by domain weight
Build a spaced-repetition deck seeded with anemia, iron studies, and nutritional deficiency frameworks
Work 40 board-style medical-knowledge items and log every miss with a one-line mechanism note
Draft a one-page algorithm for microcytic, normocytic, and macrocytic anemia from memory, then reconcile against a primary text
Your checkpoint
Completed blueprint checklist plus a 40-item error log with mechanism notes for each miss
Medical knowledge & Patient care and procedural skills
Differentiate intrinsic versus extrinsic hemolytic anemias using direct antiglobulin testing logic
Interpret peripheral smear, LDH, haptoglobin, and reticulocyte patterns in 25 practice vignettes
Explain the indications, dosing, and adverse effects of iron, B12, and folate repletion aloud without notes
Sequence the initial workup for suspected thrombotic microangiopathy in a written step list
Your checkpoint
A written 10-step hemolysis and TMA workup algorithm scored against a reference text with discrepancies corrected
Medical knowledge & Patient care and procedural skills
Classify myeloid and lymphoid neoplasms using WHO-style morphologic and immunophenotypic criteria
Connect cytogenetics and molecular markers to prognosis and targeted therapy selection in leukemia and myeloma
Compare induction, consolidation, and maintenance regimens for AML and ALL at a high level
Complete 50 board-style items on myeloid and lymphoid disease and categorize misses by failure mode
Your checkpoint
A one-page comparison table of AML, ALL, CML, and myeloma covering markers, prognosis, and first-line approach
Medical knowledge & Patient care and procedural skills
Outline the diagnostic criteria and risk stratification for myeloproliferative neoplasms and MDS
Interpret coagulation assays including PT, aPTT, mixing studies, and factor levels in 20 vignettes
Apply anticoagulation selection logic to venous thromboembolism and heparin-induced thrombocytopenia scenarios
Review the week 1-3 error logs and re-test every missed concept in a new format
Your checkpoint
A cumulative 60-item mixed self-assessment with a documented score and remediation list for anything below 70 percent
Patient care and procedural skills & Practice-based learning and improvement
Perform a structured bone marrow aspirate and biopsy interpretation exercise using written morphologic descriptions
Demonstrate procedural safety steps for bone marrow biopsy, including consent, site selection, and complication management
Convert the cumulative error log into a prioritized learning plan with three named knowledge gaps
Apply a literature appraisal checklist to one recent hematology guideline and summarize its practice-changing points
Your checkpoint
A written learning plan naming three gaps, each with a specific resource, timeline, and self-test method
Practice-based learning and improvement & Interpersonal and communication skills
Deliver a five-minute teach-back on a hematology topic to a colleague and collect structured feedback
Practice two simulated conversations, one breaking news of a new leukemia diagnosis and one discussing transfusion refusal
Audit personal practice against a transfusion medicine checklist and identify two deviations to correct
Write a concise patient-facing explanation of anticoagulation at a sixth-grade reading level
Your checkpoint
Two recorded or observed communication encounters with written feedback and a revised script for each
Professionalism & Systems-based practice
Analyze two ethics scenarios covering capacity, surrogate decision-making, and conflict of interest in referrals
Draft a disclosure script for a medical error using a structured framework
Map the hematology care pathway from referral to infusion and name three system bottlenecks
Propose one cost-conscious or utilization improvement with an explicit metric for success
Your checkpoint
A one-page systems and professionalism improvement proposal with a measure, baseline, and target
Medical knowledge & Patient care and procedural skills
Complete a timed 120-item cumulative mock examination under exam-day conditions
Categorize every miss by domain and failure mode and rank them by remediation value
Re-drill the top 20 weak concepts using active recall until each is answered correctly twice
Finalize a one-page exam-day strategy covering pacing, flagging, and fatigue management
Your checkpoint
A scored 120-item mock exam with a ranked remediation list and a completed exam-day strategy sheet
Milestones
Week 2: Can explain anemia classification and hemolysis workup from memory with 90 percent accuracy on a 20-item self-quiz
Week 4: Cumulative 60-item mixed assessment completed with score documented and remediation list written
Week 6: Two observed communication encounters completed with written feedback and revised scripts
Week 8: Timed 120-item mock exam completed with domain-level score breakdown and top-20 remediation list finalized