Resources That Improve Medical Board Licensing Examination Performance

Authors

Frank Jackson, University of New England
Ethan Duane, University of New England
Robert Harmon, University of New England
Ryan A. Kollar, University of New England
Nicole M. Rainville, University of New England
Ryan M. Smith, University of New England

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-16-2019

Abstract

Purpose: Examine the factors improving performance on national medical licensing board examinations.
Rationale: Accreditation 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.
Methods: One-hundred and two (102) medical students were surveyed regarding preparation for and performance on COMLEX-USA Level 1 and USMLE Step 1.
Results: USMLE-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.
Conclusion: COMLEX-specific resources may not adequately prepare students for COMLEX-USA

Comments

© Copyright 2019 Jackson et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC-BY 3.0., which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Article published originally:
Jackson F, Duane E, Harmon R, et al. (October 16, 2019) Resources That Improve Medical Board Licensing Examination Performance. Cureus 11(10): e5927. DOI 10.7759/cureus.5927

Recommended Citation

Jackson, Frank; Duane, Ethan; Harmon, Robert; Kollar, Ryan A.; Rainville, Nicole M.; and Smith, Ryan M., "Resources That Improve Medical Board Licensing Examination Performance" (2019). Primary Care Faculty Publications. 1.
https://dune.une.edu/primarycare_facpubs/1