USMLE Step 1 and 2 scores correlate with family medicine clinical and examination scores.
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We sought to validate the family medicine shelf examination by determining whether correlations exist between the US Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) family medicine final examination (FMF) scores and the USMLE Step 1 or Step 2 scores. We also evaluated for correlations between the family medicine clinical evaluation scores (CES), final clerkship grades, and all of these examinations. METHODS: The above scores (first attempts only) of 258 third-year medical students at Texas Tech University at Amarillo from July 1994 to June 2001 were obtained. Linear regression models were made between scores. Low CES and examination or family medicine clerkship failures were statistically compared. RESULT: The average scores were USMLE Step 1: 203.7, USMLE Step 2: 203.8, FMF: 83.3, and CES: 90.1. Positive linear correlations were seen between the Step 1 scores and both the FMF scores and CES. Positive linear correlations between the Step 2 scores and both the FMF scores and the CES were seen. Students failing the USMLE Step 1 were more likely to fail the FMF as well as the family medicine clerkship. Students with a CES less than the 10th percentile were more likely to fail the FMF as well as the family medicine clerkship. CONCLUSIONS: USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 scores correlate linearly with both the FMF and CES of the third-year family medicine clerkship. Students failing their USMLE Step 1 examination or having a low CES are at risk for failure of the FMF as well as the family medicine clerkship. (+info)
Relationship between academic achievement and student performance on the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA level 2.
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The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) is a three-part examination used for licensing osteopathic physicians. The relationship between performance on this examination and prior student academic performance has been unclear. This study explores the relationship between COMLEX-USA level 2 scores and student academic performance at Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OSU-COM). All first-time examination candidates from OSU-COM had a formal, weeklong board review in March 2000, and all passed the examination. Predictions about COMLEX-USA scores generated by the academic dean's office at OSU-COM underestimated student examination performance; results suggest a significant correlation between level 2 performance with (1) level 1 performance (.751); (2) grade point average (GPA) in basic science (.659); (3) total GPA (.672); and (4) Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores (.406). The correlation of level 2 scores to clinical GPA (.269) was lower but still significant. Results of this study suggest that performance on COMLEX-USA level 2 is strongly correlated with prior student academic performance in this population. (+info)
Predictive validity of osteopathic medical licensing examinations for osteopathic medical knowledge measured by graduate written examinations.
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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive validity of osteopathic medical licensing examinations for osteopathic medical knowledge measured by graduate written medical examinations. Performances on the three osteopathic initial licensing examinations, the three osteopathic internal medicine in-service examinations, and the osteopathic internal medicine board certification examinations were analyzed for a cohort of the most recent osteopathic internal medicine board certification examination candidates (N = 82). Multiple regressions were performed for the predictive value of licensing examination scores for the late examination scores. Logistic regressions were used for the prediction of pass/fail status on the licensing examinations for that on the board certification. A longitudinal performance profile was constructed to assess the rank changes in decile on the examinations at different times. All correlation coefficients between the licensing examinations and other examinations were significant and higher than .70. The licensing examinations together predicted at least 60% of the variance of any of the other examination scores. The pass/fail status on the licensing examinations predicted 89% of the pass/fail status on the certification examination. Decile ranks since the first licensing examination were consistent and stable over at least 5 years. The osteopathic licensing examinations had high predictive validity for the late written osteopathic internal medicine examinations. Generalization of the findings to other disciplines needs a caution, as a specialty bias may exist for these types of studies. (+info)
The medical liability crisis of 2003: must we squander the chance to put patients first?
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Medical liability reform should be aligned with a patient-centered, systems-based approach to preventing injury. Lessons learned about medical risk are now buried by the legal system, and communication about risk is haphazard among health care providers and across the interfaces of our legal, regulatory, and health care systems. Tort reform can be a vehicle for breaking down systemic barriers. Proposed reforms include (1) requiring disclosure of medical errors and restricting the use of information disclosed as evidence of guilt; (2) outlawing confidentiality agreements when malpractice cases are settled; (3) abolishing the National Practitioner Data Bank; and (4) establishing a national patient safety authority. (+info)
Foreign medical school graduates problems of qualifying as competent to practice.
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It is financially and practically impossible to investigate thoroughly all the medical schools in the world and to keep the records current. There is at present no acceptable method for screening the graduates. The official policy of the American Medical Association regarding licensing to practice medicine in the United States is that it is a state right and that it is entirely under the jurisdiction of the governments of the individual states. Hospitals in this country have a great responsibility to the public and to their attending physicians not to engage incompetent physicians and not to exploit the physicians they engage. It is the obligation of all medical licensing boards to constantly help in elevating and improving the standards of medical care. The foreign - trained physicians who have received medical education and training comparable to that given in this country will always be welcome. The exchange of students and faculty members between schools in friendly foreign countries and the United States should be encouraged. The number of foreign physicians serving as interns and residents in this country is steadily increasing. (+info)
Your license and the law.
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Rare is the individual respondent in a hearing before the California Board of Medical Examiners who has read the compilation of laws relating to the practice of medicine and surgery before he became involved with the law. Many physicians do not realize that the conviction of either a felony or any offense, misdemeanor or felony involving moral turpitude constitutes unprofessional conduct and that, after being penalized by the civil courts, they then are subject to action by the Board which may revoke the license to practice. During 1960, forty-two hearings on charges of unprofessional conduct were held. Many of these could have been avoided had the doctors involved not been ignorant of the law. (+info)
Improving professional competence--the way ahead?
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Globally, there has been considerable interest from the public, medical profession, and governments in ensuring that doctors are fit for practice. Appropriate accountability for the profession has become an important contemporary issue. With doubts emerging on the effectiveness of professionally led regulation, a variety of different mechanisms have been devised to ensure that patients receive appropriate and good quality care. This paper reviews regulation of the medical profession and indicates the way in which doctors in the UK are held accountable for their practice. (+info)
Relations between academic performance by medical students and COMLEX-USA Level 2: a multisite analysis.
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The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) is a national medical licensing examination for physicians earning the doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO) degree. Little has been published regarding the validity of this relatively new, high-stakes examination. The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of COMLEX-USA Level 2, which is given to fourth-year osteopathic medical students and focuses on clinically relevant content. Nineteen osteopathic medical schools were asked to submit Level 2 scores and associated academic information, including predictions by deans or deans' representatives regarding whether each student would pass the examination. Twelve of the 17 schools that had students eligible to take the Level 2 examination provided data for 1254 (80%) of 1577 first-time test takers in March 2000. The overall mean score of study participants was 533.35, with a pass rate of 91.98%. The highest average correlation with COMLEX-USA Level 2 performance was with COMLEX-USA Level 1 scores (r = 0.76), followed by basic science grade point average (GPA) (r = .66), total GPA as a fourth-year student (r = .65), and clinical GPA (r = .36). Students identified as being at highest risk received the lowest mean score (427.54) and were most likely to fail Level 2. COMLEX-USA Level 2 scores are moderately to highly related to academic achievement in osteopathic medical schools. (+info)