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The Predictive Validity of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners’ COMLEX-USA Examinations With Regard to Outcomes on American Board of Family Medicine Examinations

O’Neill, Thomas R., Peabody, Michael R., Song, Hao·2016·Academic Medicine
DOI 10.1097/acm.0000000000001254
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Abstract

Purpose: To examine the predictive validity of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners’ Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States of America (COMLEX-USA) series with regard to the American Board of Family Medicine’s (ABFM’s) In-Training Examination (ITE) and Maintenance of Certification for Family Physicians (MC-FP) Examination. Method: A repeated-measures design was employed, using test scores across seven levels of training for 1,023 DOs who took the MC-FP for the first time between April 2012 and November 2014 and for whom the ABFM had ITE scores for each of their residency years. Pearson and disattenuated correlations were calculated; Fisher r to z transformation was performed; and sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for the COMLEX-USA Level 2–Cognitive Evaluation (CE) with regard to the MC-FP were computed. Results: The Pearson and disattenuated correlations ranged from 0.55 to 0.69 and from 0.61 to 0.80, respectively. For MC-FP scores, only the correlation increase from the COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE to Level 3 was statistically significant (for Pearson correlations: z = 2.41, P = .008; for disattenuated correlations: z = 3.16, P < .001). The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of the COMLEX-USA Level 2-CE with the MC-FP were 0.90, 0.39, 0.96, and 0.19, respectively. Conclusions: Evidence was found that the COMLEX-USA can assist family medicine residency program directors in predicting later resident performance on the ABFM’s ITE and MC-FP, which is becoming increasingly important as graduate medical education accreditation moves toward a single aligned model.

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Metadata

Authors
O’Neill, T. R., Peabody, M. R., & Song, H.
Affiliations
American Academy of Family Physicians (US)
Corresponding author
O’Neill, Thomas R.
ORCID
Peabody, Michael R.
Venue
Academic Medicine
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2016-11
Volume
91
Issue
11
Pages
1568-1575
ISSN
1040-2446 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1097/acm.0000000000001254
OpenAlex
W2417449430
Cited by
21
References
1
Citations by year
2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2016: 2
FWCI
1.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Academic Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Innovations in Medical Education
  • Social Sciences › Education › Medical Education and Admissions
  • Social Sciences › Education › Teacher Education and Assessments
Keywords
predictive validity, family medicine residency, in-training examination, resident performance prediction, osteopathic physicians, graduate medical education accreditation, cognitive assessment
MeSH terms
Certification, Clinical Competence, Family Practice, Humans, Internship and Residency, Licensure, Medical, Osteopathic Medicine, Specialty Boards, United States

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: The Predictive Validity of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners’ COMLEX-USA Examinations With Regard to Outcomes on American Board of Family Medicine Examinations. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1097/acm.0000000000001254
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O’Neill, T. R., Peabody, M. R., & Song, H. (2016). The Predictive Validity of the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners’ COMLEX-USA Examinations With Regard to Outcomes on American Board of Family Medicine Examinations. Academic Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1097/acm.0000000000001254