How lessons are made

The syllabus is ABIM's blueprint. One lesson per topic line, in ABIM's order, with ABIM's weights. A topic ABIM lists under two categories is one lesson, shown in both places.

A lesson is short: five to eight minutes. It says what the exam asks about the topic, gives the one-minute version, teaches the reasoning in a few short parts, names the traps the exam's wrong answers play on, says where European guidelines differ, and ends with a case to think through and six to ten flashcards.

Every claim is cited. Each paragraph, bullet and card carries its reference, a record in PubMed. The answer standard is the current US society guideline, as on the exam. Under each part, the evidence lines quote the source's own words; our build checks each quote against the source's text (the abstract, the open-access full text, or StatPearls) and refuses to publish a lesson where a claim has no source or a quote is not found.

The format is being tested. The first lessons are written to version 1 of the lesson standard. It changes only from feedback, round by round; the rest of the course is written once a version is approved.

Never used: exam questions, question banks, review books, or anyone's text beyond a short quote with its reference.