The New ACP MKSAP: Information for Educators Webinar

There are many reasons ACP can no longer offer MKSAP in printed paper format:

• Medical practice is continually changing, but printed syllabi cannot be continually updated.
• ACP is committed to sustainability both in its own practices and in healthcare more generally. Print production and shipping is not environmentally sustainable.
• The ACP MKSAP mobile app offers a portable learning solution for users without immediate access to the Internet. When you are back online, your app will sync to your ACP MKSAP account to update your learning progress completed in the app.
• Highlighting is now offered in MKSAP’s digital formats – in multiple colors! Note taking is also offered. For topics added to your MKSAP Learning Plan, you can even see all your highlighted text for that topic collated for quick review.
• Less than 2% of MKSAP users stated a preference for print in our last user survey.
• The print industry has changed dramatically. We can no longer source paper reliably or produce volumes at a reasonable price due to changing market dynamics.
• Print books require warehousing, packaging, and shipping of heavy books at significant cost. Production of a print book series also requires separate editorial processes and staff, with related costs.
• Passing on the higher costs of production to the small group of people who desire print would result in a prohibitive price point.

Although ACP MKSAP will not offer a print format, the digital platform is developed with careful attention to accessibility, including evaluation of the product using the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template. The digital version also provides many accessibility features that make it more accessible for more learners than print. Features include the ability to expand the typeface size, night mode view, image alt text for low vision audio readers, and so on. ACP recommends that learners consider using a handheld tablet reader to simulate the print book experience.

ACP MKSAP presale subscribers who do NOT already have MKSAP 19 will receive free immediate access to MKSAP 19 Complete Green, with access through August 31, 2026! MKSAP 19 Complete Green is the premium MKSAP digital offering, with well over 2000 self-assessment questions in multiple formats and unlimited custom quiz opportunities. Features include:

• 12 digital syllabus sections and interlinked MCQs;
• Integrated Board Basics;
• Adaptive learning-based Flash Cards;
• Virtual Dx image-based MCQs;
• Quick Qs geared towards efficient board prep;
• IM-ITE Feedback Feature;
• Customizable Learning Plan; and
• NEW Confirmation of Relevant Education (CORE) question feature.

The MKSAP 19 CORE Questions pilot is a brand-new feature that comprises 180 new multiple-choice questions designed to allow learners to test their knowledge, demonstrate proficiency, and document ongoing engagement in relevant education. This feature gives our subscribers what they often request – more questions – with fun learning incentives, including unlocking quizzes and earning badges.

Although all MKSAP’s self-assessment questions undergo many stages of review, clinical editing, and psychometric validity testing, the Confirmation of Relevant Education (CORE) questions underwent an extra psychometric step: a standard-setting process. This extra psychometric rigor was implemented to provide learners who successfully earn CORE badges with assurance that their MKSAP learning achievement is meaningful and truly confirmatory of relevant learning. The CORE questions were also specially curated to ensure their relevancy to internal medicine practice. Finally, the CORE feature offers the opportunity for gamification by allowing learners to unlock CORE sections after meeting specified MKSAP 19 proficiency and progress thresholds and earning badges (and confetti!) when meeting the CORE questions passing scores.

Here is an overview of the new pilot.

Each MKSAP learner can create a personalized Learning Plan, which includes topics they flag for study from throughout MKSAP. For ACP MKSAP, we're working on improvements to help learners keep track of content they've added to the Learning Plan. We've made a note of your request to distinguish between topics added from the IM-ITE Feedback and other sources.

Yes, the IM-ITE Feedback feature is now available in MKSAP 19. Learners can opt to have the IM-ITE educational objectives they answered incorrectly imported into their MKSAP 19 learning plan to customize their individualized learning plans and address knowledge gaps. More information is available on the MKSAP 19 Help page.

Good news! With the transition to a subscription-based, longitudinal learning platform, every ACP MKSAP user will retain their learning assets and customizations over time and renewals, including highlighting and notes! MKSAP 19 learning data, including notes and highlighting, will not transfer to ACP MKSAP because the content will be brand new and completely different.

Residency programs will enjoy group pricing discounts on top of the already-discounted ACP MKSAP presale prices. During the pre-sale period, orders of more than 10 ACP MKSAP subscriptions will receive 10% off the already discounted ACP MKSAP presale price. Orders of 100 or more ACP MKSAPs will receive an additional 5% discount.

The ACP MKSAP presale period will end on February 2, 2025. Orders placed after the presale will receive the same discounted rate off the standard ACP MKSAP subscription pricing. For more information about group pricing please contact ACP Member and Product Support at 800-ACP-1915 (800-227-1915), or at 215-351-2600 M-F, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET

For many reasons, ACP cannot add a 4-year subscription term to its purchase options, which offer a value-based 3-year subscription and a flexible 1-year subscription. ACP’s ability to offer residency program pricing that is lower than MKSAP 19 pricing is possible by minimizing our package offerings to reduce administrative complexity, allowing us to pass along the savings to our customers. However, programs and learners will be able to renew their ACP MKSAP subscription at a discount below full subscription prices, and they may choose either 1- year or 3-year renewal terms depending on their learning and price needs.

Residents, including those training in international training sites, must be members of ACP to enjoy discounted resident pricing.

ACP cannot add a 5-year subscription term to its purchase options, which offer a value-based 3-year subscription and a flexible 1-year subscription. ACP’s ability to offer residency program pricing that is lower than MKSAP 19 pricing is possible by minimizing our package offerings to reduce administrative complexity, which allows us to pass the savings along to our customers. Residents who require 5 years of learning support through ACP MKSAP would be well served with an initial 3-year subscription and a 3-year renewal, which will offer a 10% renewal discount and will provide learning support through the residents’ transition out of training.

Yes, ACP Resident/Fellow Members will enjoy discounted resident pricing, whether they purchase their ACP MKSAP subscription through the Residency Program Portal or as an individual purchase through the ACP online store. They will all also get the term extension through August 31, if appropriate for their subscription. However, only group purchases receive an additional bulk purchase discount on top of the Resident/Fellow Member discount.

Residency programs may place orders for ACP MKSAP subscriptions through the residency program portal. MKSAP orders for faculty that are part of an order of 10 or more subscriptions, will receive a 10% discount. MKSAP orders for faculty that are part of an order of 100 or more subscriptions, will receive a 10% discount, plus a discount of an additional 5%.

For group ACP MKSAP orders not affiliated with a residency program, please contact ACP’s Member and Product Support team at https://www.acponline.org/contact for more information or to place an order.

Although we will not be offering a 4-year subscription option, ACP will offer PGY3 residents in Med-Peds training programs who are in good standing as ACP Resident/Fellow Members an option to purchase a 1-year ACP MKSAP subscription extension at a prorated 1-year price during their third year of training. Because we are still working on the technical issues related to product launch and set-up, we will share the details on this extension offer in the future. It is recommended that Residency Programs order ACP MKSAP 3-year subscriptions for their incoming Med-Peds PGY1 residents in academic year 2024, and these residents will be offered a 1-year equitably priced extension during their third year of training.

If they are in need of immediate access to MKSAP 19, it will remain available for purchase until April 8, 2024, at an end-of-product-cycle discounted rate. This will be sufficient for them to prepare for the 2025 or 2026 certification exam cycle if they wish. If they can await access to MKSAP 19 when the ACP MKSAP pre-sale period begins in April, then we recommend they do so. A 1-year or 3-year ACP MKSAP presale subscription, available for purchase starting April 9 and then offering immediate access to MKSAP 19 Complete Green, is the recommended option for any residents who don’t currently have MKSAP 19 and can await the April start of the pre-sale window. Presale purchase will offer ACP MKSAP at a discounted presale rate and will provide immediate MKSAP 19 access through August 31, 2026, and ACP MKSAP access beginning February 3, 2025, with 3-year subscription terms ending February 2, 2028. This is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of a two-for-one MKSAP learning package at a value-based price.

MKSAP 19 is indeed the current, actively updated edition in use by medicine residents, including PGY1. Current PGY1 MKSAP 19 learners will be supported with MKSAP 19 access through August 31, 2026, ensuring coverage through the 2026 ABIM Certification Exam cycle. Purchase of ACP MKSAP for this group is entirely optional. For those who do wish to supplement their MKSAP 19 learning, ACP MKSAP 1- or 3-year subscriptions are available for purchase, but it is not necessary. BONUS: Learners who already have MKSAP 19 and who purchase ACP MKSAP during the presale period (April 9, 2024, through February 2, 2025) will receive immediate access to 300 free MKSAP bonus questions!

ACP does not currently have a system in place to identify these programs, nor do we have data on how many Med/Genetics PGY1 learners are purchasing MKSAP. We can assess whether it is possible to add this administratively without increasing costs. Stay tuned.

The ACP activation date for purchases made through the presale period through launch will be February 3, 2025. Three-year subscriptions will terminate on February 2, 2028. This will provide incoming PGY1s in 2024-25 learning support well beyond their August 2027 boards. The 2-month subscription extension to August 31, 2028, for 3-year resident subscriptions becomes active with purchases made in 2025 for incoming PGY1s in the 2025-26 academic year and boards in 2028 with subscription activation dates in July or August 2025.

If they are in need of immediate access to MKSAP 19, it will remain available for purchase until April 8, 2024, at an end-of-product-cycle discounted rate. This will be sufficient for them to prepare for the 2025 or 2026 certification exam cycle if they wish. If they can await access to MKSAP 19 when the ACP MKSAP pre-sale period begins in April, then we recommend they do so. A 1-year or 3-year ACP MKSAP presale subscription, available for purchase starting April 9 and then offering immediate access to MKSAP 19 Complete Green, is the recommended option for any residents who don’t currently have MKSAP 19 and can await the April start of the pre-sale window. Presale purchase will offer ACP MKSAP at a discounted presale rate and will provide immediate MKSAP 19 access through August 31, 2026, and ACP MKSAP access beginning February 3, 2025, with 3-year subscription terms ending February 2, 2028. This is an excellent opportunity to take advantage of a two-for-one MKSAP learning package at a value-based price.

Yes, ACP membership is required to purchase ACP MKSAP at the Resident/Fellow Member discounted rate. ACP Resident/Fellow Membership dues are separate from MKSAP pricing because dues provide full membership benefits, with MKSAP discount being only one of those benefits. Membership benefits include a myriad of free and discounted learning opportunities, including a personal copy of Annals of Internal Medicine, the ACP Online Learning Center (including POCUS content, pain management learning series, obesity management learning series, diagnostic decision making, high value care, and on and on), Doctors Dilemma, the IMpower resident support series, IM Matters newsletters, ACP Hospitalist, podcasts , advocacy news, clinical guidelines, ACP’s education-rich Internal Medicine Meeting, and learning support on topics such as professional development, financial planning, and well-being, to name a few. Through ACP membership, residents can seek networking opportunities or participate in Leadership Day to support one of ACP’s many impactful advocacy efforts on issues of importance to them. And too many more benefits to list here. For more information, check out ACP’s Resident-Member benefits!

Residents with active MKSAP subscriptions who need assistance accessing their MKSAP account can contact ACP Member and Product Support for assistance at 800-ACP-1915 (800-227-1915) or 215-351-2600, Monday-Friday, between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm ET, or at help@acponline.org.

Should your residency program place an ACP MKSAP presale order for residents who have purchased MKSAP 19 on their own, the residents’ MKSAP 19 access will remain unchanged. Because they already have MKSAP 19, in addition to receiving ACP MKSAP at the discounted presale price, they will also receive free MKSAP bonus questions.

Chief Residents who need MKSAP learning support through 2026-2027 have the option to purchase a 1-year ACP MKSAP subscription at the discounted resident rate. Alternatively, they might consider the value-priced 3-year subscription, that provides up to 3 years’ learning for one low price and will support them past training.

Additional information would be needed to appropriately advise. For questions regarding the specifics of your residency program’s order, please contact rar@acponline.org prior to placing your program’s order.

MKSAP 19 will not be sold after April 8 as an independent product. The best option for current PGY1 residents who do not need access to MKSAP19 prior to April 9 is to purchase ACP MKSAP during the presale later this spring. Presale purchases of ACP MKSAP will include free immediate access to MKSAP 19 Complete Green through August 31, 2026, plus ACP MKSAP! ACP MKSAP will be available for learning beginning February 3, 2025, with a 3-year subscription providing access through February 2028, well past the 2027 boards time frame for incoming PGY1s! Educators and residents can determine the appropriate time to supplement learning with or transition to ACP MKSAP.

The presale for ACP MKSAP will begin on April 9, 2024. The Residency Program Portal will open for group orders for residency programs on May 1, 2024.

Program Directors, Chief Residents, and Program Coordinators are welcome to sign on as administrators/educators to monitor residents’ progress and make assignments via the MKSAP Residency Tracker. With this access, they will be able to view all MKSAP’s self-assessment questions, answers, and critiques, and their learners’ progress and proficiency in answering MKSAP’s questions. To participate in individual learning, faculty and chief residents are free to purchase an individual 1- or 3-year ACP MKSAP subscription. ACP MKSAP will provide up to 300 CME/MOC credits each year for those physicians who need it! For more information and to sign up for access to the MKSAP Residency Tracker, please visit https://www.acponline.org/featured-products/mksap-19/mksap-19-tracker.

Programs may continue to enroll their residents during PGY2 with a 3-year subscription if they prefer this start time for their curricular plan. Remember that the offered price for the 3-year subscription is intentionally below the price programs previously paid to support learners during years 2 and 3. If you would like to make a program switch from a PGY2 start to a PGY1 start, you may wish to communicate with your institution/department/GME office as to whether gradually shifting (order starting January 1 of PGY1 then shift again to July 1) would help the budget by attributing costs across years, or if a single year fund change is preferable.

Over the next couple months, ACP will be asking residency program directors, through surveys and in-person discussions at two upcoming meetings (Academic Internal Medicine Week 2024 and ACP’s Internal Medicine Meeting 2024) to provide input on potential Residency Tracker improvements. The ACP MKSAP Residency Tracker is currently in development, and the results of our needs assessment will help to inform refinements to the ACP MKSAP Residency Tracker, including best practices for onboarding residents into the Tracker. We invite you to share your feedback on the Tracker in this survey: https://webforms.acponline.org/form/mksap-19-tracker-survey

Faculty, chief residents, and administrators can sign up in the administrator’s/educator’s role in the MKSAP Residency Tracker even if they do not have an account. Details on the ACP MKSAP Residency Tracker are currently being determined.

Over the next couple months, ACP will be asking residency program directors, through surveys and in-person discussions at two upcoming meetings (Academic Internal Medicine Week 2024 and ACP’s Internal Medicine Meeting 2024) to provide input on potential Residency Tracker improvements. The ACP MKSAP Residency Tracker is currently in development, and the results of our needs assessment will help to inform refinements to the ACP MKSAP Residency Tracker, including what types of questions and features to include in the Tracker.

We invite you to share your feedback on the Tracker in this survey: https://webforms.acponline.org/form/mksap-19-tracker-survey.

Yes, the free MKSAP Tracker will be included in ACP MKSAP.

The free MKSAP Residency Tracker was initiated as a pilot in MKSAP 17, is available in MKSAP 19, and will continue to be made available in ACP MKSAP. For more information and to sign up for access to the MKSAP Residency Tracker, please visit https://www.acponline.org/featured-products/mksap-19/mksap-19-tracker.

We are seeking feedback from residents and program directors to explore ways we can streamline the onboarding process for the free ACP MKSAP Residency Tracker. We are grateful for this feedback and will consider it as we refine the Tracker for deployment within ACP MKSAP! We invite you to share your feedback on the Tracker in this survey: https://webforms.acponline.org/form/mksap-19-tracker-survey

We have various opportunities for ACP Members to get involved in the development of MKSAP and other educational programs. If you are interested in serving on a future MKSAP Content Development Committee, please send a C.V. and cover letter detailing your interest and any experience with developing educational or assessment materials to Jackie Twomey, Managing Editor, Assessment and Education Programs at jtwomey@acponline.org.

We also have periodic opportunities for volunteers to serve as peer reviewers, submit images and video, and pretest multiple-choice questions. More details are available on the My Volunteer Opportunities page (Member Login required)on ACPOnline.

For instruction on how to add a resident to your program’s roster in the Residency Program Portal, please see page 6 of the Guide to the ACP Residency Program Portal. Residents will be able to be added to your roster when the Residency Program Portal opens on May 1, 2025.

The cost of ACP membership dues will vary depending on whether the physician is still in training and how long they have been out of medical school. Resident/Fellow membership dues are $134 for the 2024-2025 year. For dues rates for post-training physicians, please visit ACP Online for more information.

ACP Membership is not required to purchase ACP MKSAP; however, membership is required to receive the member-exclusive ACP MKSAP discounted price.