PMID- 21771926
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20111222
LR  - 20110720
IS  - 1945-1997 (Electronic)
IS  - 0098-6151 (Linking)
VI  - 111
IP  - 6
DP  - 2011 Jun
TI  - Competency-based classification of COMLEX-USA cognitive examination test items.
PG  - 396-402
AB  - CONTEXT: The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA 
      (COMLEX-USA) currently assesses osteopathic medical knowledge via a series of 3 
      progressive cognitive examinations and 1 clinical skills assessment. In 2009, the 
      National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners created the Fundamental 
      Osteopathic Medical Competencies (FOMC) document to outline the essential 
      competencies required for the practice of osteopathic medicine. OBJECTIVES: To 
      measure the distribution and extent to which cognitive examination items of the 
      current series of COMLEX-USA assess knowledge of each of the medical competencies 
      included in the FOMC document. METHODS: Eight graduate medical education 
      panelists with expertise in competency-based assessment reviewed 1046 
      multiple-choice examination items extracted from the 3 COMLEX-USA cognitive 
      examinations (Level 1, Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation, and Level 3) used during the 
      2008-2009 testing cycle. The 8 panelists individually judged each item to 
      classify it as 1 of the 6 fundamental osteopathic medical competencies described 
      in the FOMC document. RESULTS: Panelists made 8368 judgments. The majority of the 
      sample examination items were classified as either patient care (3343 [40%]) or 
      medical knowledge (4236 [51%]). Panelists also reported these 2 competencies as 
      being the easiest to define, teach, and assess. The frequency of medical 
      knowledge examination items decreased throughout the COMLEX-USA series (69%, 43%, 
      40%); conversely, items classified as interpersonal and communication skills, 
      systems-based practice, practice-based learning and improvement, and 
      professionalism increased throughout the 3-examination series. CONCLUSION: 
      Results indicate that knowledge of each of the 6 competencies is being assessed 
      to some extent with the current COMLEX-USA format. These findings provide 
      direction for the enhancement of existing examinations and development of new 
      assessment tools.
FAU - Langenau, Erik
AU  - Langenau E
AD  - National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners, National Center for Clinical 
      Skills Testing, NBOME, Conshohocken, PA 19428-2004, USA. elangenau@nbome.org
FAU - Pugliano, Gina
AU  - Pugliano G
FAU - Roberts, William
AU  - Roberts W
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/standards/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - Cognition
MH  - Data Collection
MH  - Educational Measurement/methods/standards/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - Educational Status
MH  - Focus Groups
MH  - Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
MH  - Humans
MH  - Licensure, Medical/standards/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - Osteopathic Medicine/standards/*statistics & numerical data
MH  - United States
EDAT- 2011/07/21 06:00
MHDA- 2011/12/23 06:00
CRDT- 2011/07/21 06:00
PHST- 2011/07/21 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/07/21 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2011/12/23 06:00 [medline]
AID - 111/6/396 [pii]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Am Osteopath Assoc. 2011 Jun;111(6):396-402.