Association between EMS Question Bank Completion and Passing Rates on the EMS Certification Examination

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
• Medical Education
• Board Certification Examinations

Background:

• Developing effective study tools is crucial for candidates preparing for subspecialty board certification exams.
• The Emergency Medical Services (EMS) field requires rigorous training and assessment to ensure high-quality patient care.
• Assessing the utility of novel preparation methods is essential for medical education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development of an online question bank for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) certification exam preparation.
• To evaluate the effectiveness of this question bank in enhancing candidate success on the EMS subspecialty board certification examination.

Main Methods:

• An online question bank was created by 13 subject matter experts from eight EMS fellowship programs.
• The question bank comprised four practice tests, each with 100 questions.
• Candidate participation, completion rates, and pass rates were analyzed and compared to national statistics.

Main Results:

• 252 candidates utilized the question bank, with 225 completing all four practice tests.
• Candidates completing the question bank achieved a 79% pass rate, 12% higher than the overall exam pass rate (p=0.003).
• Performance on the question bank positively correlated with exam success (X² = 75.8, p < 0.0001), with scores ≥70% increasing the odds of passing by 17.8 times.

Conclusions:

• Participation in the EMS board review question bank program was associated with significantly improved pass rates on the certification exam.
• Strong performance within the question bank serves as a reliable predictor of success in the actual EMS subspecialty board certification examination.