Department of Professional Services, National Board of Medical Examiners, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Assessment and Research Division, American Board of Internal Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2018 May 7;13(5):710-717. doi: 10.2215/CJN.05580517. Epub 2018 Feb 28.
Medical specialty and subspecialty fellowship programs administer subject-specific in-training examinations to provide feedback about level of medical knowledge to fellows preparing for subsequent board certification. This study evaluated the association between the American Society of Nephrology In-Training Examination and the American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology Certification Examination in terms of scores and passing status.
DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS: The study included 1684 nephrology fellows who completed the American Society of Nephrology In-Training Examination in their second year of fellowship training between 2009 and 2014. Regression analysis examined the association between In-Training Examination and first-time Nephrology Certification Examination scores as well as passing status relative to other standardized assessments.
This cohort included primarily men (62%) and international medical school graduates (62%), and fellows had an average age of 32 years old at the time of first completing the Nephrology Certification Examination. An overwhelming majority (89%) passed the Nephrology Certification on their first attempt. In-Training Examination scores showed the strongest association with first-time Nephrology Certification Examination scores, accounting for approximately 50% of the total explained variance in the model. Each SD increase in In-Training Examination scores was associated with a difference of 30 U (95% confidence interval, 27 to 33) in certification performance. In-Training Examination scores also were significantly associated with passing status on the Nephrology Certification Examination on the first attempt (odds ratio, 3.46 per SD difference in the In-Training Examination; 95% confidence interval, 2.68 to 4.54). An In-Training Examination threshold of 375, approximately 1 SD below the mean, yielded a positive predictive value of 0.92 and a negative predictive value of 0.50.
American Society of Nephrology In-Training Examination performance is significantly associated with American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology Certification Examination score and passing status.
医学专业和亚专业奖学金项目管理特定科目的培训中考试，为准备随后的委员会认证的研究员提供有关医学知识水平的反馈。本研究评估了美国肾脏病学会培训考试（American Society of Nephrology In-Training Examination）与美国内科医师学会肾脏病委员会认证考试（American Board of Internal Medicine Nephrology Certification Examination）在分数和通过状态方面的关联。
设计、设置、参与者和测量：该研究包括 1684 名在 2009 年至 2014 年期间完成了其奖学金培训第二年的美国肾脏病学会培训考试的肾脏病研究员。回归分析检查了培训考试与第一次肾脏病认证考试成绩以及相对于其他标准化评估的通过状态之间的关联。
该队列主要由男性（62%）和国际医学院毕业生（62%）组成，研究员在第一次完成肾脏病认证考试时的平均年龄为 32 岁。绝大多数（89%）在第一次尝试时通过了肾脏病认证。培训考试成绩与第一次肾脏病认证考试成绩的关联最强，占模型中总可解释方差的约 50%。培训考试成绩每增加一个标准差，认证成绩就会相差 30 U（95%置信区间，27 至 33）。培训考试成绩也与肾脏病认证考试的第一次尝试通过状态显著相关（优势比，培训考试中每标准差差异 3.46；95%置信区间，2.68 至 4.54）。培训考试成绩 375 的阈值，大约低于平均值一个标准差，具有 0.92 的阳性预测值和 0.50 的阴性预测值。
美国肾脏病学会培训考试成绩与美国内科医师学会肾脏病委员会认证考试分数和通过状态显著相关。
