Emergency Medicine Shelf Exam Practice Questions

What is tested on the NBME Emergency Medicine Shelf Exam?

According to the NBME Emergency Medicine Advanced Clinical Exam Content Outline, the exam covers the following topics:

System*

• General Principles, including ethics and patient safety 1%–5%
• Immunologic Disorders 1%–5%
• Diseases of the Blood 5%–10%
• Mental Disorders 1%–5%
• Diseases of the Nervous System 10%–15%
• Cardiovascular Disorders 15%–20%
• Diseases of the Respiratory System 10%–15%
• Nutritional and Digestive Disorders 10%–15%
• Gynecologic Disorders 1%–5%
• Renal, Urinary, Male Reproductive Systems 5%–10%
• Obstetric Disorders 1%–5%
• Diseases of the Skin 1%–5%
• Musculoskeletal and Connective Tissue Disorders 5%–10%
• Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders 5%–10%

Physician Task

• Promoting Health and Health Maintenance 1%–5%
• Understanding Mechanisms of Disease 5%–10%
• Establishing a Diagnosis 25%–35%
• Applying Principles of Management 45%–55%

Patient Age

• Birth to 17 5%–10%
• 18 to 65 60%–65%
• 66 and older 15%–20%

*A subset of items across the organ systems includes content that focuses on resuscitation/trauma (~15%) and environmental/toxicologic disorders (~15%).