ABEM Certifying Exam Mock Checklist: Ten Cases, Two Blocks, One Fixed Break

Two weeks before the mock

• Choose 10 original cases with the exact published distribution.
• Select the sequence: four Clinical Care Cases first or six Communication & Procedure Cases first.
• Assign examiners, standardized patients, technicians, procedure facilitators, and ultrasound support.
• Prepare task sheets, vitals, images, laboratory results, equipment, actor scripts, and scoring anchors.
• Confirm all content is original or publicly available and contains no recalled secure examination material.
• Reserve approximately 4 hours 25 minutes plus faculty briefing and debrief time.
• Create a no-coaching rule during timed stations and a concise incident plan for equipment failure.

Mock blueprint

Examiner and actor briefing

Day-of execution

• Candidate receives a schedule and a brief orientation without case teaching.
• Doors, task sheets, equipment, and digital assets are tested before arrival.
• Each station has a visible master clock for staff and a hard stop.
• No feedback occurs between cases.
• The 30-minute break begins at the published transition point and cannot move.
• Food, hydration, restroom, and prohibited-material rules are defined in advance.
• An observer tracks transition time, incomplete stations, and cumulative fatigue.
• Any technical incident is documented separately from candidate performance.

Score observable behavior by station type

• Clinical Decision-Making: focused evaluation, differential, tests, interpretation, stabilization, treatment, reassessment, disposition, rationale.
• Prioritization: acuity hierarchy, immediate stabilization, reprioritization, delegation, and team-resource use.
• Procedure: indication, contraindication, preparation, technique, troubleshooting, confirmation, and post-care.
• Ultrasound: patient explanation, acquisition, optimization, interpretation, and integration.
• Communication: rapport, perspective, clarity, emotion response, shared understanding, negotiation, and closure as appropriate.
• Reassessment: new information recognized, care modified, patient re-evaluated, and next step stated.
• Timing: required arc completed inside the correct 10- or 15-minute clock.

Debrief and repeat

1. 01

   Safety first

   Correct delayed stabilization, unsafe prioritization, procedural danger, and failure to reassess before stylistic concerns.

2. 02

   Station-type behavior

   Identify whether the candidate failed the construct—such as negotiation, image acquisition, or delegation—even when medical knowledge was adequate.

3. 03

   Clinical precision

   Repair diagnostic, therapeutic, technical, or disposition errors with a concise source-backed correction.

4. 04

   Timing and transitions

   Review which required elements were lost to pacing and whether performance deteriorated late in the session.

5. 05

   Schedule repeats

   Assign no more than five priority behaviors and repeat each in a new case within 72 hours.

Final readiness checklist

• Completes both 15-minute Clinical Care Case types without delayed stabilization or missing disposition.
• Explicitly prioritizes and delegates during multiple-patient cases.
• Performs high-risk procedure and ultrasound tasks with safe setup, troubleshooting, and confirmation.
• Handles emotion, uncertainty, and conflict without losing clinical clarity or professionalism.
• Changes the plan when new information arrives.
• Completes 10 stations with stable pacing and a clean reset after the fixed break.
• Has verified all current ABEM travel, registration, clothing, accommodation, and prohibited-item instructions.
• Understands that the mock result is educational—not an official ABEM score or guarantee.