A comparison of medical student performance on the obstetrics and gynecology National Board Part II examination and a comparable examination given during the clerkship.

An obstetrics and gynecology clerkship examination obtained from the National Board of Medical Examiners was administered to 96 medical students at the end of their clerkship rotation. They also took part II of the National Board examination 18 to 30 months later. There was a significant correlation between their ob-gyn scores on the two tests (r=0.56; p less than 0.01). In addition, all of the "high" performers (greater than 700) on the part II exam were predicted by their excellent scores on the clerkship exam. Only 25% of the "low" performers (less than 400) on the part II exam were also "low" performers on the clerkship exam; however, none had been superior performers. A clerkship exam score of 600 cleraly separated the two groups without overlap. This clerkship exam is useful in medical student education.