PMID- 19075035
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20090331
LR  - 20090521
IS  - 1945-1997 (Electronic)
IS  - 0098-6151 (Linking)
VI  - 108
IP  - 12
DP  - 2008 Dec
TI  - COMLEX-USA and in-service examination scores: tools for evaluating medical 
      knowledge among residents.
PG  - 713-6
AB  - CONTEXT: Between 2004 and 2006, the American Osteopathic Association added the 
      evaluation of seven core competencies, including "Medical Knowledge," to the 
      accreditation requirements for residency programs. OBJECTIVE: To determine 
      whether scores on the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA 
      (COMLEX-USA) and in-service examinations are useful in assessing osteopathic 
      residents' medical knowledge. METHODS: Scores were gathered from medical 
      education records from 2002 through 2006 for all residents in emergency medicine, 
      family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, and obstetrics and 
      gynecology at Metro Health Hospital in Grand Rapids, Mich. Residents were 
      assigned to one of four categories based on their score patterns on the three 
      levels of COMLEX-USA. Score categories were compared with results from residents' 
      in-service examinations. For subgroup analyses, statistical significance was 
      assessed at P<.008. RESULTS: A total of 74 residents took 170 in-service 
      examinations during the study period. Among residents in the highest COMLEX-USA 
      score pattern category, 70.7% of in-service examination scores were at or above 
      the national mean. Only 20% of scores among residents in the lowest category were 
      at or above the national mean. Of statistical significance, residents in the two 
      highest COMLEX-USA categories had more test scores above the national mean than 
      residents in the lowest category (P<.008). In addition, residents who took 
      multiple in-service examinations showed an upward progression in scores, 
      indicating an increase in residents' medical knowledge. CONCLUSION: Residents' 
      score patterns on COMLEX-USA generally correlated with their scores on in-service 
      examinations, indicating that these examinations are useful assessment tools for 
      measuring the "Medical Knowledge" core competency.
FAU - Sevensma, Susan C
AU  - Sevensma SC
AD  - Medical Education Department at Metro Health Hospital, Grand Rapids, Mich. 
      49506-4160, USA. susan.sevensma@metrogr.org
FAU - Navarre, Gerri
AU  - Navarre G
FAU - Richards, Robert K
AU  - Richards RK
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - J Am Osteopath Assoc
JT  - The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association
JID - 7503065
SB  - IM
MH  - *Clinical Competence
MH  - Humans
MH  - *Internship and Residency
MH  - *Licensure, Medical
MH  - Osteopathic Medicine/*education
MH  - Reproducibility of Results
MH  - Retrospective Studies
MH  - United States
EDAT- 2008/12/17 09:00
MHDA- 2009/04/01 09:00
CRDT- 2008/12/17 09:00
PHST- 2008/12/17 09:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2008/12/17 09:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2009/04/01 09:00 [medline]
AID - 108/12/713 [pii]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2008 Dec;108(12):713-6.