Does In-Service Examination During Interventional Pulmonology Fellowship Predict Successful Completion of Interventional Pulmonology Board Certification?

Abstract

SESSION TITLE: Medical Education SESSION TYPE: Original Investigation Slide PRESENTED ON: Monday, October 30, 2017 at 07:30 AM - 08:30 AM PURPOSE: Interventional pulmonology (IP) is a subspecialty of pulmonary medicine that requires a dedicated 12 months of additional training. Trainees in IP fellowship programs are required to complete in-service examinations toward the end of their training. This study analyzed the relationship between performance on the American Association of Interventional Pulmonology Program Directors (AIPPD) in-service training examination and subsequent performance on the American Association for Bronchology and Interventional Pulmonology (AABIP) board certification. METHODS: The cohort represented test takers between 2012 and 2015. All IP fellows who took the in-service examination were enrolled in the study. In order to determine the trainees that successfully passed the AABIP board examination, we cross referenced the AABIP listing of board certified physicians and also contacted the program directors via email. χ2 test was used to examine the relationship between performance on the in-service training examination and the Certification Examination. RESULTS: A total of 59 fellows took the in-training examination between 2012 and 2015. 55 (93.22%) were trained in the US and 4 (6.78%) in Canada. The majority of IP fellowship graduates (67.8%) had positions in academic IP practices. Overall mean percentage score of IP in-service examination was (69.8% ±8.2). 88.2% (52/59) fellows passed the IP in-service examination. 84.7% (50/59) took the AABIP board examination, 15.3% (9/59) didn’t present the AABIP board certification, and therefore these were excluded from the statistical analysis, 82% (41/50) obtained the certification. The correlation between in-service examination and board certification was statistically significant (P: 0.024) CONCLUSIONS: The in-training examination is a self-assessment examination and performance on the test is a positive predictor of future performance on the AABIP board exam certification. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: In-training fellowship examination is a predictor of AABIP board certification and the candidate’s future clinical performance and skills when dealing with patients with pulmonary diseases. DISCLOSURE: The following authors have nothing to disclose: Melibea Sierra, Shaheen Islam, Hans Lee, Neeraj Desai, Carla Lamb, Fayez Kheir, Adnan Majid No Product/Research Disclosure Information