Computer-based test (CBT) and OSCE scores predict residency matching and National Board assessment results in Japan

Abstract

Context The Japan Residency Matching Program (JRMP) launched in 2003 and is now a significant event for graduating medical students and postgraduate residency hospitals. The environment surrounding JRMP changed due to Japanese health policy, resulting in an increase in the number of unsuccessfully-matched students in the JRMP. Beyond policy issues, we suspected there were also common characteristics among the students who do not get a match with residency hospitals. Methods In total 237 out of 321 students at The University of Tokyo Faculty of Medicine graduates from 2018 to 2020 participated in the study. The students answered to the questionnaire and gave written consent for using their personal information including the JRMP placement, scores of the pre-clinical clerkship (CC) Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE), the Computer-Based Test (CBT), the National Board Examination (NBE), and domestic scores for this study. The collected data were statistically analyzed. Results The JRMP placements were correlated with some of the pre-CC OSCE factors/stations and/or total scores/global scores. Above all, the result of neurological examination station had most significant correlation between the JRMP placements. On the other hand, the CBT result had no correlation with the JRMP results. The CBT results had significant correlation between the NBE results. Conclusions Our data suggest that the pre-clinical clerkship OSCE score and the CBT score, both undertaken before the clinical clerkship, predict important outcomes including the JRMP and the NBE. These results also suggest that the educational resources should be intensively put on those who did not make good scores in the pre-clinical clerkship OSCE and the CBT to avoid the failure in the JRMP and the NBE.

Effects of COVID-19 on Japanese medical students’ knowledge and attitudes toward e-learning in relation to performance on achievement tests

“…Before this step, students undergo a performance assessment, the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, and a knowledge assessment administered through computer-based testing using item response theory [ 23 ] are conducted at the end of pre-clerkship courses (in the fourth year), which includes basic clinical knowledge, introduction to clinical medicine, clinical skills, and clinical reasoning. These tests, developed by the Common Achievement Tests Organization [ http://www.cato.umin.jp/ ], were implemented in 2005 as standardized tests [ 24 , 25 ].…”

The Usefulness of Deep Tendon Reflexes in the Diagnosis of Lumbar Spine Diseases: A Narrative Review

“…Therefore, a DTR assessment can be more objective than sensory or motor assessments and can be obtained even if the patient is unable to communicate due to impaired consciousness or cognitive impairment. DTR assessment is an essential technique in daily practice and is included in the education for medical students’ objective structured clinical examinations [ 4 ]. In lumbar spine disorders, neurological examinations, including DTR assessments, are crucial for diagnosing and determining treatment options.…”