A validity study of COMLEX-USA Level 3 with the new test design.

Context: The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) administers the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States (COMLEX-USA), a three-level examination designed for licensure for the practice of osteopathic medicine. The examination design for COMLEX-USA Level 3 (L3) was changed in September 2018 to a two-day computer-based examination with two components: a multiple-choice question (MCQ) component with single best answer and a clinical decision-making (CDM) case component with extended multiple-choice (EMC) and short answer (SA) questions. Continued validation of the L3 examination, especially with the new design, is essential for the appropriate interpretation and use of the test scores.

Evaluating Financial Conflicts of Interest Among Contributors to Clinical Practice Guidelines of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Context: Patient care is an essential part of the practice of obstetrics and gynecology, and patient care is directed by clinical practice guidelines. To increase the validity of these guidelines, we must make sure that there is no outside influence by financial conflicts of interest.

Objective: To investigate the existence of and reporting patterns regarding payments received by contributors to guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), ACOG executive committee members, and companies making these payments and to examine the compliance of those receiving payments to ACOG's conflict of interest policies.

An Investigation of the Relationship Between COMLEX-USA Licensure Examination Performance and State Licensing Board Disciplinary Actions.

Purpose: Passing the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination of the United States (COMLEX-USA) serves as a licensing requirement, yet there is limited understanding between this high-stakes exam and performance outcomes. This study examined the relationship between COMLEX-USA scores and disciplinary actions received by osteopathic physicians.

Method: Data for osteopathic physicians (N = 26,383) who graduated from medical school between 2004 and 2013 were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression to assess the relationship between COMLEX-USA scores and placement into one of 3 disciplinary action categories relative to no action received, controlling for years in practice and gender.

The Use of COMLEX-USA and USMLE for Residency Applicant Selection.

Background: The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX-USA) and the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) are recognized by all state medical licensing boards in the United States, and the Federation of State Medical Boards has supported the validity of both examinations for medical licensure. Many osteopathic medical students take both examinations.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate performance on COMLEX-USA Level 1 and USMLE Step 1 of students from colleges of osteopathic medicine where the majority of students took both examinations.

Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment Technique Scores on the COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE: An Analysis of the Skills Assessed.

Context: The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners uses the Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) Global Rating Tool to score candidate performance in OMT during standardized patient encounters. To the authors' knowledge, no validity research has been published on the underlying constructs measured by this instrument to date.

Objective: To evaluate whether the OMT Global Rating Tool measures 1 holistic skill or multiple skill sets.

Preparation Strategies of Osteopathic Medical Students for the COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE.

Context: Since 2002, osteopathic medical schools have made curricular changes to further enhance the clinical skills of their students, to prepare them for residency training, and to pass the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA Level 2-Performance Evaluation (COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE).

Objective: To report how students at osteopathic medical schools prepare for the COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE, and to investigate the effect of these techniques on examination performance.

Methods: A standardized survey was given to students before the beginning of their examination to assess the preparation of osteopathic medical students for the COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE, such as coursework, orientation materials, and standardized patient (SP) encounters.

Sensitizing Tb(III) and Eu(III) emission with triarylboron functionalized 1,3-diketonato ligands.

Four BMes2Ar (Mes = mesityl, Ar = phenyl or duryl) functionalized 1,3-diketonato ligands have been investigated for use in selective sensitization of Tb(III) and Eu(III) emission. These ligands have the general formula of [R1C(O)CR2C(O)R3](-) (R1 = Ph, R2 = H, R3 = p-Ph-BMes2, L1; R1 = R3 = p-Ph-BMes2, R2 = H, L2; R1 = R3 = Me, R2 = p-Ph-BMes2, L3; R1 = R3 = Me, R2 = p-duryl-BMes2, L4) and belong to class I (L1 and L2) and class II (L3 and L4), respectively. In class I, the boron unit is conjugated with the phenyl linker and the diketone backbone, while in class II, the boron unit, the linker unit, and the diketone unit are nonconjugated with a mutually orthogonal arrangement.

Consistency of interrater scoring of student performances of osteopathic manipulative treatment on COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE.

Context: Assessment of osteopathic manipulative treatment (OMT) is included in the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners' Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA Level 2-Performance Evaluation (COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE). The scores earned for OMT should be equivalent among all raters regardless of which technique is scored or which rater is scoring the performance. As a quality assurance measure, selected examination dates and the encounters within the administration of COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE are scored by 2 raters: first by a "live" rater and next by a quality assurance rater.

Patterns of misrepresentation of clinical findings on patient notes during the COMLEX-USA Level 2-PE.

Context: A health care team depends on the accurate documentation of the patient-physician encounter, be it written or electronic. If documentation is inaccurate or incomplete, patient care may be adversely affected. Previous studies have identified factors that influence documentation errors, such as fatigue, carelessness, and being overworked.

Low temperature synthesis of silicon carbide nanomaterials using a solid-state method.

Silicon carbide (SiC) nanomaterials have been prepared via the solid-state metathesis reaction of various silica sources, magnesium and carbon. This approach enables synthesis of crystalline β-SiC nanomaterials of varied morphologies at 600 °C - the lowest temperature reported to date. The resulting materials were characterized using XRD, FTIR, XPS, TEM and SEM techniques.

Triarylboryl-functionalized dibenzoylmethane and its phosphorescent platinum(II) complexes.

An acetylacetonato derivative ligand, dibenzoylmethane (dbm), has been functionalized with a dimesitylboryl group. Phosphorescent N^C-chelate Pt(II) compounds with the new molecule as an ancillary ligand have been achieved and used as effective turn-on phosphorescent sensors for fluoride ions under air.