Are Scores From NBME Subject Examinations Valid Measures of Knowledge Acquired During Clinical Clerkships?

Ryan, Michael S.; Bishop, Steven; Browning, Joel; Waterhouse, Elizabeth; Rigby, Fidelma; Al-Mateen, Cheryl S.; Lee, Clifton; Bradner, Melissa; Colbert-Getz, Jorie M.

doi:10.1097/acm.0000000000001535

Cited by 22 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Our students take Step 1 at the end of the third year; while one study notes that Step 1 performance can identify students at risk for poor performance on the NBME subject examinations, this is not relevant at our institution. 13 Future studies may compare student NBME performance from the same clerkship block who did and did not use the CSMS self-assessments. Further research may also assess how students use the CSMS self-assessments as a study guide and formative feedback tool to better prepare for the subject examination.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the Introduction of the Clinical Science Mastery Series on Family Medicine NBME Subject Examination Performance

Minor

Stumbar

Bonnin

2019

Fam Med

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Background and Objectives: Many medical schools assess student clinical knowledge using the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) subject examinations. The Family Medicine Clinical Science Mastery Series (CSMS) self-assessments, which are made up of former Family Medicine NBME examination questions, became available in September 2017. They provide students with realistic practice questions and immediate performance feedback. To further assess the utility of various study tools available to our students, this study investigated the impact of the CSMS self-assessments for family medicine on the NBME family medicine subject examination performance. Methods: Data analysis was conducted to compare student performance on the end-of-rotation NBME Family Medicine Clinical Subject Examination before and after the introduction of the CSMS family medicine self-assessments. The effect size was measured using a Cohen d analysis. We conducted an independent t-test analysis to determine the effect the NBME Family Medicine CSMS self-assessments had on end-of-rotation clinical subject examination scores. Results: The analysis revealed statistically significant improvement in students’ clinical subject examination scores after the release of the CSMS in September 2017 (n=90) compared to the students’ scores prior to the availability of the CSMS (n=95). Conclusions: Student scores improved with the introduction of the NBME CSMS family medicine self-assessment. These results support recommending student use of the CSMS as a study tool for their end-of-clerkship NBME subject examinations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of the Introduction of the Clinical Science Mastery Series on Family Medicine NBME Subject Examination Performance

Minor

Stumbar

Bonnin

2019

Fam Med

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“…6 Shelf exams are nationally developed, multiple-choice tests that are appealing due to their objective nature, national standardization, and ease of administration. 7 However, concerns include questions regarding their validity for assessing knowledge gained within clerkships 7 and the time required to study for these examinations 4 There are two main tensions in grading. The first involves the use of compensatory vs. non-compensatory grading assignments.…”

Section: Dedicated Clinical Teaching and Learning At The Bedside Is Criticalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Across the United States, most medical schools incorporate the National Board of Medical Examiners’ Subject (“shelf”) examinations as a core component to determine clerkship grades 6 . Shelf exams are nationally developed, multiple‐choice tests that are appealing due to their objective nature, national standardization, and ease of administration 7 . However, concerns include questions regarding their validity for assessing knowledge gained within clerkships 7 and the time required to study for these examinations 4 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bringing clerkship grading back to the bedside

Ryan

Haley

Helou

et al. 2021

The Clinical Teacher

Self Cite

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The purpose of medical school is to train students to become excellent physicians. An excellent physician is one who possesses diverse skills including a strong clinical knowledge base, interpersonal communication skills, and professionalism. 1 While some of these skills may be introduced in the classroom, dedicated clinical teaching and learning at the bedside is critical. 2 Unfortunately, competition for the residency match in the United States motivates learners to perform well. 3 This pressure to perform may lead increase focus on clinical grades, and a disproportionate emphasis on preparation for knowledge-based assessments rather than time spent developing diverse doctoring skills at the bedside. 4

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“…As the curriculum changed, the nature of the exams needed to change as well. 3 , 11 , 16 , 17 Assessment procedures had to reflect the shift from memorization to critical thinking and prepare students to a lifelong practice. 18 It was with this rationale that the NBME was adopted to monitor changes in performance and compare our curricula in light of international standards.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

National Board of Medical Examiners and Curriculum Change: What Do Scores Tell Us? A Case Study at the University of Balamand Medical School

Ojaimi

Khairallah

Younes

et al. 2020

Journal of Medical Education and Curricular Development

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Objectives: This study describes the results of NBME (National Board of Medical Examiners) implementation in Balamand Medical School (BMS) from 2015 to 2019, after major curricular changes were introduced as of 2012. BMS students’ performance was compared with the international USMLE step 1 (United States Medical Licensing Examination, herein referred to as step 1) cohorts’ performances. The BMS students’ NBME results were analyzed over the successive academic years to assess the impact of the serial curricular changes that were implemented. Methods: This longitudinal study describes the performance of BMS preclinical second year medicine (Med II) students on all their NBME exams over 4 academic years starting 2015-2016 to 2018-2019. These scores were compared with the step 1 comparison group scores using item difficulty. The t test was computed for each of the NBME exams to check whether the scores’ differences were significant. Results: Results revealed that all BMS cohorts scored lower than the international USMLE step 1 comparison cohorts in all disciplines across the 4 academic years except Psychiatry. However, the results were progressively approaching step 1 results, and the difference between step 1 scores and BMS students’ NBME scores became closer and not significant as of year 4. Conclusions: The results of the study are promising. They show that the serial curricular changes enabled BMS Med II students’ scores to reach the international cohorts’ scores after 4 academic years. Moreover, the absence of statistical difference between cohort 4 scores and step 1 cohorts is not module dependent and applies to all clinical modules. Further studies should be conducted to assess whether the results obtained for cohort 4 can be maintained.

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Are Scores From NBME Subject Examinations Valid Measures of Knowledge Acquired During Clinical Clerkships?

Cited by 22 publications

References 8 publications

Impact of the Introduction of the Clinical Science Mastery Series on Family Medicine NBME Subject Examination Performance

Impact of the Introduction of the Clinical Science Mastery Series on Family Medicine NBME Subject Examination Performance

Bringing clerkship grading back to the bedside

National Board of Medical Examiners and Curriculum Change: What Do Scores Tell Us? A Case Study at the University of Balamand Medical School

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