Emergency Medicine Question Banks

Initial Certification

Achieve your dream of certification with 3,000 ABEM-formatted questions and explanations that follow the ABEM EM Model Content Outline.

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Questions

Aligned with the American Board of Emergency Medicine format. Authored & peer-reviewed by faculty, clinicians, and program directors.

Each question is written to resemble the format and topics on the exam, meaning you won’t see any negatively phrased questions, no “all of the following except,” no “A and B”…you know what we mean. Most importantly, all questions include selective distractors (incorrect answer choices), which will help you think critically.

Must address important content
Must be well structured

Question

A 15-month-old girl is brought to the emergency department by her parents with intermittent inconsolability. She has no known medical problems. Her mother states the patient was well and, about 3 hours prior to arrival, suddenly started crying and curled up on the living room floor. The mother reports this lasted for several minutes, after which the patient returned to baseline. She had two additional episodes prior to arrival, with both resolving spontaneously. Vital signs are all unremarkable. Physical examination reveals a well-appearing toddler with a soft, nontender abdomen. Prior to you leaving the room, the patient starts crying inconsolably. You notice she brings her knees to her chest. This lasts for a minute, and the patient subsequently stops crying and returns to baseline. Which of the following is the best next diagnostic test to make the diagnosis?

A CT of the abdomen and pelvis

B Ultrasound of the abdomen

C Upper GI series

D X-ray of the abdomen

Correct Answer Distractors

Intussusception occurs when one segment of the intestine telescopes into another, usually the ileum into the colon. Constriction of the mesentery results in engorgement of the intussusceptum and bowel ischemia, causing the presenting symptoms. Intussusception occurs most commonly before the age of 2 years and is rare before 2 months. It often develops due to a lead point, which drags one portion of the bowel into another. In infants, it typically occurs due to lymphoid hyperplasia from a viral illness and in older children due to Meckel diverticulum, intestinal polyps, lymphoma, and immunoglobulin A vasculitis (formerly Henoch-Schӧnlein purpura). Intussusception is difficult to diagnose due to the variation in the common presentations of intermittent pain and lethargy. Classically, patients will present with a sudden onset of severe abdominal pain with the legs drawn to the chest and then will appear well until the next episode of pain. Another common presentation is an infant with unexplained lethargy. Although the classic teaching is to look for currant jelly stools, these are rarely present, with occult bleeding occurring in the majority of cases and gross bleeding present in half of the cases. Ultrasound is the initial image modality of choice. When there is a high suspicion of intussusception, patients should undergo an immediate air-contrast enema, which is both diagnostic and therapeutic.

Explanations

Written with a purpose

Understanding why an answer choice is incorrect is just as important as knowing why one is correct. That’s why every Rosh Review question includes detailed explanations for the correct and incorrect answer choices. These comprehensive summaries link the most important components of a topic—from risk factors to diagnostics and treatment—giving you the context to build relationships between them.

Created for optimal learning and recall
Help reinforce your knowledge
Focus on the essential information

Illustrations

Created to enhance learning

Custom illustrations and tables help further clarify the core concepts. When information is presented visually, you can focus on meaning, easily reorganize and group similar ideas, and make better use of your memory.

Powerful Analytics

Track progress, performance, & predictions

Your personal analytics allow you to see your progress at all times, so you can create an efficient and effective learning strategy and stay on pace with your plan.

Focus your learning

Deep insights to determine your strengths and weaknesses so you can spend your time on the subjects that matter.

Compare with your peers

Discover how your answer choices align with those selected by learners across the country.

Find out your probability of passing

Using data generated by previous users, your Qbank gives a prediction of how likely you are to pass your exam.

One Step Further

Taking your learning to the next level

After each explanation is a straightforward question with a simple, memorizable answer that reinforces the corresponding topic.

Strengthens your knowledge
Stands alone from the main explanation so you’re not rereading content

Question

What is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in children under 2 years of age?

Reveal Answer

Intussusception (Telescoping Bowel)

Patient will be a child 6 months to 3 years
Complaining of colicky abdominal pain, vomiting, and bloody stools (currant jelly)
Diagnosis is made by ultrasound (target sign)
Most common cause is idiopathic
Although less common, it is important to be vigilant for pathologic lead points in children of any age
Treatment is air or hydrostatic (contrast or saline) enema

Rapid Review

Keeping things simple

These bulleted reviews focus on condensed, high-yield concepts about the main topic, from patient presentation to preferred management.

Cover the fundamentals in one list
Allow you to quickly scan the must-know information

FAQs

Get a little more clarification

Where can I find free practice questions for the ABEM initial certification exam?: You can access free practice questions with a free trial for the Emergency Medicine Initial Certification Exam Qbank—no billing information required. The free trial includes practice questions that align with the ABEM blueprint and include comprehensive answer explanations and beautiful teaching images.

After practicing with these questions, if you decide you're ready for thousands of additional questions to help you confidently prep for your board exam, you can easily upgrade to a full Qbank subscription.

How should I study for the ABEM initial certification exam?

This detailed article about How to Increase Your Emergency Medicine Certification Exam Score includes our favorite study tips. Spoiler alert: you should target your “unknown unknowns.” Here’s how you do that:

Answer a question from a Qbank
If you answer incorrectly, read the explanation
Take notes about why the correct answer is correct, and make sure to take notes on anything in the explanation that you didn’t already know

If you do this for every question you answer incorrectly, and if you regularly review your notes and add information to topics as you do more questions, you’ll eventually determine your unknown unknowns. In return, you’ll uncover most of your blind spots that questions on the board exam can ask about.

The “How to Increase Your Score” article also includes day-of tips like which grammatical mistakes to keep an eye out for to help you narrow down answer choices. Our goal is to help you succeed, so read as many of these tips as you can before exam day.

How many questions are on the ABEM initial certification exam?: It has 305 multiple-choice questions divided into two sections, which each last 3 hours and 10 minutes. You have a 1-hour break in between the sections, so prepare for the exam to take about 8 hours total.

Which emergency medicine Qbanks should I compare?

These are the companies we suggest trying to make sure you find the Qbank that's right for you. Compare them by signing up for a free trial:

BoardVitals
Hippo EM
PEER
Rosh Review
TrueLearn

How to Select the Best Emergency Medicine Board Review breaks down the selection criteria you can use.

How do I earn CME with Rosh Review?

If you sign up for an account that is linked to CME, here’s what you need to do:

Complete either all the questions or 1,000 questions in your Qbank (depending on your package)

Once that’s complete, here’s how to claim and download your certificate:

Go to the Account Settings tab (only on desktop/laptop)
Select Claim next to the subscription package name (see an example)
Complete the survey
Download your certificate

You’ll earn up to 100 AMA PRA Cat 1 CME credits.

What forms of payment do you accept?: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and gold bars (just kidding–please don’t try this. It sounds heavy.)

What is the pass guarantee?: We believe in you, and if you use Rosh Review, we're confident you will pass your board exam.

If you complete 100% of the questions in your package and don't pass, you will be refunded the full amount of your subscription costs. Guaranteed. Your score report with your name and numerical score must be emailed Rosh Review at refund@roshreview.com within 60 days of the score report being published.

If you haven't completed all the questions or if you want to prepare to retake your exam, your subscription can be extended through the next exam date free of charge.

Who writes the questions and explanations?: The finest people around! Questions writers and content editors are board-certified clinicians who have all performed well on their examinations. Answer explanations are derived from the specialty's authoritative resources with some personal input to simply the material and synthesize it for greatest comprehension and recall.
If you’re interested in becoming a question writer, tell us a bit about yourself and we'll be in touch.

Can I use my subscription from multiple devices and locations?: Phone...laptop...tablet...yep! You can access your subscription from as many locations and as many devices as you want and have. However, we recommend starting and completing exams on a single device.

Keep in mind that sharing accounts is not allowed, so simultaneous logins are not allowed. Any abuse of the Terms & Conditions will result in cancellation of your account.

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“I just received comfortably above passing score on the Initial Certification Exam! When I started using Rosh Review last year for the In-Service, my scores started rising considerably. Thanks again!”

Matthew DeAugustinis, MD

Attending Physician

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