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The amount of studying described here may be what you did but is not a minimum requirement by any means.

I'm not even sure where you're getting 5000+ questions for the ABR Core.

-Another radiologist.



I actually did 3 months for Core, i think that’s pretty average.

Kevlar Radprimer Board vitals

Radprimer has probably more than 5,000 basic and intermediate questions by itself. Are you saying I lowballed it? I was pulling numbers out of my ass


RADPrimer isn't board prep and the question have little to no relevance for the ABR Core. Basic is designed to be completed in R1 and intermediate during R2-3.

The 5000 questions are how you're supposed to learn radiology, as an alternative to reading a textbook.


You trying to be abrasive or no? It seems like yes but I’ll respond.

Everyone I know from multiple residencies and in fellowship all reset radprimer and redid the questions for core. It’s not like people save it, they do it twice. Anyways, like I said, I was pretty average for prep. Also I forgot to add - everyone I know also used the Radiology Core Physics app, that’s like an additional 300 or 500 questions.

Ben White is pretty well known, he pretty much gives a road map that includes rad primer

https://www.benwhite.com/radiology/approaching-the-abr-core-...

“Looking back, in an ideal world: I would have read Core Radiology and started RadPrimer in the fall. Done CTC and physics Feb/March and then filled in the rest of the time with questions, probably primarily via the A Core Review Series. Qevlar is nice for the phone app with offline capabilities and probably would’ve made it in too. Most of the latter would have been important mostly for anxiolysis or possibly long-term retention, as passage wasn’t an issue.”

I felt like Radprimer and the physics app were the highest yield Then board vitals Last Kevlar

Highest yield book was War machine. Crack did OK. Essentials books were solid, especially nucs.

Later gator


Not being abrasive, I have written questions for RADPrimer. We’re not instructed to write board style questions and that roadmap is the officially stated guidance.

When I was in residency most of us just did BoardVitals, Crack the Core and War Machine or the physics app you mentioned. That’s sufficient to pass the exam hence why I said this may be what you did but not the minimum necessary.

Resetting RADPrimer is a good way to review all of radiology but as you may remember the intermediate questions are much harder than the exams, almost all image based, and generally have many image sets and long stems.

It’s a completely different style and aim than BV, ACR DXIT or ABR Core which are generally either quick hitters or don’t have images.

Most people don’t study for the cert exam which is considerably easier. ABR doesn’t give statistics but I’ve never heard of someone failing it.


Basic and intermediate RP “what is the diagnosis” with just images and no history are very similar to what’s on core - with basic being higher yield.

Crack the Core is now lower yield but War Machine is still go to for physics. Things could change in the future though. Board vitals gives way too much history and text without enough just image based questions, so it’s lower yield but still worth it I think. Maybe they changed qbank up since I used it. Qevlar was a waste - could be different now.

The certifying is easy diagnostically but the nucs/RISE/NIS documents need a read. Those don’t take a huge amount of time but they’re not 0 hours. If someone is confident in their ability to be passed by ABR then not looking at anything is a strategy I suppose.

Anyways, fun time over


> Basic and intermediate RP “what is the diagnosis” with just images and no history are very similar to what’s on core - with basic being higher yield.

Again, basic is intended for first year radiology residents not as board prep. You may have used it for this purpose, but it is neither a prerequisite to pass the ABR Core nor is it the most efficient way to prepare.

You can make the statement that a lot of work goes into becoming a radiologist without the inaccurate claim that the one exam requires 5000+ practice questions.

The official description:

"RADPrimer helps radiologists fine tune their diagnostic skills and enhance their knowledge:

Comprehensive radiology training for all levels

RADPrimer allow physicians to customize their educational path, focusing on the topics that matter most. RADPrimer allows radiologists to use their time efficiently as they work toward professional advancement. Topic-focused lessons present specific diagnoses, anatomy, differential diagnoses, and assessment questions related to the topic. RADPrimer provides over 5,300 case-based learning and traditional questions."


I don't know what you want me to tell you - but my experience as a recent graduate is reflected below. You may have had a different path but everyone in my training cohort is doing this and passing this down as the standard prep.

Rad Primer Basic 2,173 Qevlar - 2,000 Board vitals - 1300 PhysicsApp - 572

At University of Texas we did this for prep and in fellowship at the University of Washington I checked with their residents and they were doing that too.

Ben White from UTSW gives something like that as road map for study questions (which I already linked to you).

Here's another random perspective that matches mine https://www.nellymd.com/2015/07/american-board-of-radiology-...

> You can make the statement that a lot of work goes into becoming a radiologist without the inaccurate claim that the one exam requires 5000+ practice questions.

I keep providing links and data and you keep providing quotes about the definition of RadPrimer and what exactly it is and how exactly residents are supposed to utilize it - without any deviation. I don't know where you did your training but perhaps you're at a more prestigious institution and the trainees had to prepare less to pass the exam. Maybe you're just that much smarter.




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