Examining Change in Maintenance of Certification Exam Scores Over Time

• In Event: 16.031 - Large-Scale Assessments: Issues in Development and Score Interpretation

Abstract

The American Board of Medical Specialties and its member boards require physicians to maintain certification via continuous professional development and evaluation, known as maintenance of certification (MOC). MOC is comprised of four components: licensure and professional standing, lifelong learning and self-assessment, cognitive expertise, and practice performance assessment. Previous research focuses mainly on the cognitive expertise component and suggests that cognitive expertise tends to decline over time. The current paper uses multilevel modeling to examine overall and individual change over time in scaled scores as well as pass/fail rates. Several individual characteristics were included to examine factors that impact changes in MOC exam scores over time. Results suggest that several individual characteristics predict changes in MOC exam scores over time.

Authors

• Kelli Samonte, University of North Carolina - Greensboro

• Andrew Jones, American Board of Surgery

• Thomas W. Biester, American Board of Surgery

• Mark Malangoni, American Board of Surgery