FM-MAP: A Novel In-Training Examination Predicts Success on Family Medicine Certification Examination

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Family Medicine Training
• Assessment and Evaluation

Background:

• Assessing resident competency is crucial in medical education.
• The Canadian family medicine certification examination evaluates essential physician skills.
• A locally developed In-Training Examination (ITE) was created to aid resident assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the correlation between a Canadian In-Training Examination (ITE) and the family medicine certification examination.
• To evaluate the ITE's effectiveness as a predictor of resident performance.

Main Methods:

• Residents took the ITE twice annually during their training (months 5, 9, 17, 21).
• ITE scores were correlated with performance on the certification examination taken at month 23.
• Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the relationship between ITE iterations and exam components.

Main Results:

• Moderate correlations were observed between ITE scores and the problem-solving and knowledge domains of the certification exam.
• The correlation strength increased with the number of ITEs taken, rising from 0.45 to 0.54.
• A weak correlation (r=0.26) was found between the ITE and the doctor-patient relationship component of the certification exam.

Conclusions:

• The In-Training Examination serves as a valuable predictor for knowledge and problem-solving skills assessed in the family medicine certification examination.
• The ITE demonstrates utility in evaluating key aspects of resident competency relevant to board certification.