Does performance on the NBME part II medicine examination when used as a clerkship examination reflect knowledge acquired during the medicine clerkship?

Objective:The purpose of this study was to examine whether the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Medicine Examination provides a reasonable assessment tool for testing students' knowledge acquired during a medicine clerkship. Design:Comparison of the performances of two classes of medical students on the NBME Part II Medicine Examination on the first and last days of 12-week medicine clerkships in a two-year period (1985-87). Participants:176 medical students in two consecutive classes at the Oregon Health Sciences University. Measurements and results:There was no significant difference in students' performances on the NBME Part II Medicine Examination on the first day of the medicine clerkship, regardless of the quarter in which they took the clerkship. Prior clerkship experiences did not appear to influence the baseline pre-clerkship internal medicine knowledge base as defined by NBME Part II Medicine Examination performances. Students in the second half of the year, however, demonstrated greater gains in post-clerkship NBME Part II Medicine Examination performances than did their counterparts from the first half of the year, despite similar pre-clerkship testing performances.