Resources That Improve Medical Board Licensing Examination Performance.

Frank Jackson,Robert Harmon,Ethan Duane,Nicole M Rainville,Ryan A Kollar,Ryan M Smith

doi:10.7759/cureus.5927

Abstract

PurposeExamine the factors improving performance on national medical licensing board examinations.RationaleAccreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited residency programs report the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 and Comprehensive Osteopathic Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) Level 1 scores as the most important criteria in selecting candidates to interview.Hypotheses(1) Certain resources are superior for exam preparation.(2) Certain practice tests better assess exam preparedness.(3) USMLE performance will correlate with the COMLEX-USA.MethodsOne-hundred and two (102) medical students were surveyed regarding preparation for and performance on COMLEX-USA Level 1 and USMLE Step 1.ResultsUSMLE-specific question banks were positively correlated with performance on COMLEX-USA Level 1 and USMLE Step 1 while COMLEX-specific question banks showed no correlation. National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Comprehensive Basic Science Self Assessment (CBSSA) and National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Self-Assessment Examination (COMSAE) practice examinations were positively correlated with performance on the USMLE Step 1 and the COMLEX-USA Level 1. Scores on USMLE Step 1 and COMLEX-USA Level 1 were highly correlated. Students who took USMLE Step 1 performed better on COMLEX-USA Level 1 than those who did not.ConclusionCOMLEX-specific resources may not adequately prepare students for COMLEX-USA Level 1. Students studying for COMLEX-USA Level 1 may benefit by preparing for USMLE Step 1.

Highlights

Each year, both the number of U.S medical schools and their respective class sizes continue to grow, dramatically outpacing the expansion and related availability of postgraduate year (PGY)-1 medical residency positions [1]
National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Comprehensive Basic Science Self Assessment (CBSSA) and National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Self-Assessment Examination (COMSAE) practice examinations were positively correlated with performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 and the COMLEX-USA Level 1
Despite the upcoming merger of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accredited post-graduate training positions by 2020, the move would only increase the number of accredited ACGME PGY-1 positions by 3,109, assuming that all AOA programs participating in the 2017 National Matching Service (NMS) match were incorporated into a joint match [3]

Summary

Introduction

Both the number of U.S medical schools and their respective class sizes continue to grow, dramatically outpacing the expansion and related availability of postgraduate year (PGY)-1 medical residency positions [1]. Since 1993, there have been fewer available positions in American Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited post-graduate training programs than there were applicants seeking to match [2]. In the 2017 National Residency Matching Program (NRMP) match, a total of. Despite the upcoming merger of ACGME and American Osteopathic Association (AOA) accredited post-graduate training positions by 2020, the move would only increase the number of accredited ACGME PGY-1 positions by 3,109, assuming that all AOA programs participating in the 2017 National Matching Service (NMS) match were incorporated into a joint match [3]

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