Predicting success: A comparative analysis of student performance on the surgical clerkship and the NBME surgery subject exam

Jamil Jaber; Natasha Keric; Paul Kang; Ara J Feinstein

doi:10.1016/j.sopen.2019.07.002

Predicting success: A comparative analysis of student performance on the surgical clerkship and the NBME surgery subject exam

Surg Open Sci. 2019 Aug 17;1(2):86-89. doi: 10.1016/j.sopen.2019.07.002. eCollection 2019 Oct.

Authors

Jamil Jaber¹, Natasha Keric¹, Paul Kang¹, Ara J Feinstein¹

Affiliation

¹ University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix.

Abstract

Background: The National Board of Medical Examiners surgery shelf is a well-established terminal measure of student medical knowledge. No study has explored the correlation between intraclerkship quizzes and shelf exam performance.

Methods: Weekly quiz and National Board of Medical Examiners scores were collected from 156 third-year students who participated in a 12-week surgical clerkship from 2015 to 2017. Kruskal-Wallis, Wilcoxon rank sum, and linear regression analysis was completed.

Results: Trauma/Burns, Esophagus/Anorectal, and Wound/Intensive Care Unit quiz content corresponded with increased National Board of Medical Examiners performance with β-coefficients of 1.57 (P < .001), 1.42 (P < .001), 1.38 (P < .001), respectively. Wound/Intensive Care Unit and Cardio/Vascular content corresponded with decreased likelihood of scoring < 70 points on the National Board of Medical Examiners (OR: 0.75 (P = .03), and 0.68 (P = .02)). Aggregate quiz scores stratified by academic block were 67 (IQR 64-69.5), 77 (IQR 74.5-80), 76.5 (IQR of 67-89.5), 83 (IQR of 76-85) corresponding to academic blocks 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively (P < .001).

Conclusion: Modeling National Board of Medical Examiners outcomes as a function of weekly quizzes taken during a 12-week surgery clerkship is a viable concept.