Military Internal Medicine Resident Performance on the American Board of Internal Medicine Certifying Examination

Abstract

The mission of military graduate medical education in internal medicine is to produce high-quality military internists prepared to practice in military environments. Board certification in internal medicine is an important outcome of internal medicine residency training. The American Board of Internal Medicine Certifying Examination (ABIMCE) first-taker pass rate of the graduates of an internal medicine residency program is a key measure of the quality of the program. We compared the ABIMCE first-taker pass rates for military and civilian internal medicine residency program graduates. Military internal medicine residency graduates had higher first-taker pass rates than their civilian counterparts. This is likely a reflection of the high-quality residents and the faculty at military programs. These results support the notion that military internal medicine residency programs continue to fulfill their mission of training high-quality internists.