While no one can be sure exactly what questions and information will appear on the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) exam, the ABFM does provide a blueprint of exam content. This exam blueprint (shown below) contains a list of the categories of medicine that will appear on the exam, along with percentages, so that you can see approximately how much of the exam is devoted to each specialty. The ABFM exam contains the same content for certification and recertification candidates.

NEJM Knowledge+ Family Medicine Board Review is guided by the ABFM exam blueprint, with information covering all of the content you would expect. Because it adapts to you, NEJM Knowledge+ will help you focus on the areas where you need the most review, providing efficient, effective preparation for the ABFM exam.

Each item in the NEJM Knowledge+ question bank is also blueprinted to reflect medical practice across these key dimensions:

  • Prevention, screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment
  • Ambulatory, nursing home, and hospital-based care
  • Chronic, subacute, acute, and emergency cases
  • Various patient characteristics, including age and gender

Thus, NEJM Knowledge+ represents a comprehensive survey of family medicine. And like the board exam, it focuses on the clinical scenarios most relevant to primary care. As a result, you can approach the exam with confidence.

ABFM Certification/Recertification Examination Blueprint

Medical-Content CategoryRelative Percentage
Cardiovascular12%
Endocrine8%
Gastrointestinal7%
Hematologic/Immune 3%
Integumentary6%
Musculoskeletal12%
Nephrologic3%
Neurologic3%
Nonspecific9%
Psychogenic7%
Reproductive — Female4%
Reproductive — Male1%
Respiratory13%
Special Sensory2%
Population-Based Care5%
Patient-Based Systems5%

 

Prior to 2020, the Family Medicine Certificate Examination contained an elective module which was self-selected from eight possible choices the day of the exam. Physicians were able to choose from the following family medicine topics:

Ambulatory Family MedicineChild and Adolescent Care
GeriatricsWomen’s Health
Maternity CareEmergent/Urgent Care
Hospital MedicineSports Medicine