In-training Examination Overview

Like some other American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) member boards, ABEM develops and administers an InTraining Examination. It is offered annually on the last Wednesday in February to all ACGME-accredited and RCPSC-accredited Emergency Medicine residency programs for a small fee. Programs are not required to participate in this In Service examination

The ABEM inservice examination targets the expected knowledge base and experience of an EM3 resident. Unlike other ABEM examinations, the in-training examination does not have a passing score. It is a standardized examination that residents and program faculty can use to judge an individual resident’s progress toward successful ABEM certification. There is a strong relationship between in-training and qualifying examination scores. Physicians with higher in-training scores have a higher likelihood of passing the qualifying examination and those with lower scores have a lower likelihood of passing the qualifying examination.


The examination is not designed for program evaluation, and the results should not be used to compare programs or residents across programs.