Pimp, of course, in this setting has nothing to do with prostitution but takes its origin from the term that is commonly associated with the world’s oldest profession. Or is that politics?
Who can tell them apart?

A PIMP Question asks the reader to know some obscure fact or make a ridiculous choice between two correct answers.

Anyway, the etymology of the term “pimp” goes back to the 1600s when it appeared in an English book by Thomas Middleton. It is derived from the French word pimper, which means to dress elegantly. Eventually, pimp took on a third meaning: abusing or treating badly. Thus, its use in medical circles.

Interestingly, PIMP is also an acronym for Put In My Place. I could find no connection between this acronym and the use of pimp in medical circles.

My definition of a PIMP question is one that either asks the reader to know some obscure fact that would normally be easily found in a reference or one that requires the reader to make a ridiculous choice between two correct answers. You are supposed to choose the one that is most correct. How this helps determine who is competent to practice our specialty and who is not, I am not certain.

As the time to take the test approached, I stopped doing the questions because it was making me grumpy and I was developing a fear that the test would be populated by one PIMP question after another. I thought about the popular expression that originated in an incident with a student at the University of Florida in 2007. He was being subdued by a police officer and he yelled, “Don’t tase me, bro!”

I prepared well, but I feared that I might be asked a bunch of obscure questions, the answers to which only savants can remember.

Don’t PIMP me, bro.

I am pleased to report that no travel was required for this exam. The fee is expensive enough. I had no desire to travel again to take a test. I have nothing against Dallas; however, I was pleased to see the Lions beat the Cowboys this year in an epic comeback.

The testing center, which is 15 minutes away from my home, is a clean and quiet place with about a dozen computer testing stations. They give multiple kinds of exams simultaneously. Three of us were there for ABEM. I shot the breeze with my friend, Jessica, while they checked identification and scanned everyone’s palms. It’s all very high-tech now.