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Examination Items

• Hints for Writing Items for ABVP

Item Writing Submission Guidelines:

Must send four (4) separate cds each containing items and scanned copies of references.

Notice: Scanned references should be in PDF format.

Use ABVP pink recertification labels for item writing. Five credits will be awarded for each item written and accepted by the Examination Committee with a maximum of 500 credits

Notice: Diplomates planning to submit items MUST BE TRAINED in item writing. Training is available at the ABVP Practitioner's Symposium (at no cost) or online for a fee.

Diplomates should consult the blueprint for their practice category or the General Conditions for topics on which items should be written . All topics must fall under one of the conditions on the General Conditions list. No more than 20% of submitted items may be recall questions. Items must consist of a stem and three options (one correct answer and two distractors). To review item writing examples, see:

• Item Writing Format

The following specifications must be strictly followed when writing items for recertification.

1. Diplomates may submit no more than 130 items and references to be reviewed and counted toward re-certification.
2. Items must be formatted using the Item Writing Template found on page 24 of the Item Writing Guide.
3. The majority of items must be written on Levels 2 or 3 of Cognitive Complexity Application and Analysis-type items. Of the 130 submitted items, a maximum of 20% can be Level 1, Recall. See pages 12 & 13 of the Item Writing Guide for examples.
4. Each item must be numbered and the cognitive level indicated. (Recall, Application or Analysis) Number the Stem and letter the distractors.
5. Each item must indicate the condition covered from the General Conditions list, use letters A-Y.
6. Your ID # must appear on the top right hand corner of each page. Email akelley@xmi-amc.com (the ABVP office) if you do not know your ID#. Do not put your name or other identifiers, except ID#, on the items, the references or the CDs.
7. Each item submitted should be accompanied by a scanned copy of the supporting reference. Number each reference to coincide with the number of the item.
8. Save each item on your CD to a separate numbered file. (example: Item 001)
9. References must be scanned and saved. No hard copies of references will be accepted.
10. Save each reference on your CD in a separate numbered file. (example: Ref 001)
11. Items and References must be saved and submitted on a CD-RW in Microsoft Word. Do NOT send diskettes. Do NOT send CD-Rs (read only) Four (4) copies of items and references must be submitted on four (4) separate CDs. Label the CDs as outlined in Recertification Submission Format.
12. If items are not submitted in the proper format they will be returned without review.
13. Items are graded by two trained members of the Examination Committee in your practice category. Both graders must accept an item to make it acceptable for recertification.
14. After grades are tabulated, the Diplomate will be sent a score sheet indicating which items are accepted and which have not.

Hints for Writing Items for ABVP

Read the instructions carefully

• Be sure that the reference not only supports the correct distractor, but excludes the incorrect distractors.
• If you have more than one item from a single source, it is permissible to use the same reference, just number it so that the reviewer knows that it is for multiple items.
• Highlight or underline the relevant portions of the reference so the reviewer doesn't have to read multiple pages to try and find the supporting statements.
• Do not use proceedings as a reference and only use references from publications published in the last five (5) years.
• Remember that there is a 20% limit on recall type items, so don't waste your time writing large numbers of these.
• All items should have direct clinical relevance; items should not delve into biochemistry, etc., unless there is considerable and/or immediate danger to the patient if the clinician does not know the fact.
• Writing quality items takes time and research. If you can write one after another rapidly, you probably are wasting both your time and that of the reviewers.
• Do not include extraneous material in the stem or distractors unless it is clinically significant or significant to the diagnosis/therapy. This includes such items as animal's names, etc.
• Try to make the items cover a variety of topics: look at the exam blueprint for ideas. The tendency of many writers is to get into too much trivia and/or minutiae, especially if they write too many items on one subject or from one reference.
• Be selective in using case reports as source material, especially if from a university situation. The specific case may well not represent the general situation and/or the writer may have been dealing with a skewed population.
• Do not use items where the writer says, in my practice or some such unless there is significant outside documentation for the opinion, preferably published in a common reference book. Opinions, even if correct, are just that until they have stood the test of time.
• Spell check the finished item, both for scientific terms and everyday words.
• Be very careful to avoid verbatim copies of items from sources, this constitutes plagiarism and could be grounds for rejecting any or all items submitted.
• Read the instructions carefully.