Giving comps between practicum and certification - comprehensive examinations for medical technology students

Medical Laboratory Observer, Nov, 1989 by Wendy K. Kiehn, Kenneth T. Maehara

Before the comprehensive exam was required, the mean score of UNR students on the certification exam was, on average, five points below the national mean. Over an eight-year period, the school mean averaged five points above the national mean. The average UNR mean increased by almost 17 points (p[is less than]0.001) during a period in which the national mean increased by only seven points.

We felt that it would be helpful for students to be able to use their comprehensive examination results to predict performance on the certification exam. Consequently, we compared the scores obtained on the comprehensive exam by students who later passed the certification exam with the scores of those who later failed it, and did find a correlation between comprehensive exam results and national certification results (r=0.74). In addition, the mean comprehensive exam score (71.5 per cent) of students who later passed a certification examination on the first attempt was 11 percentage points higher than the mean score (60.5 per cent) of those who failed (p[is less than]0.001). * Continued success. Eleven years after instituting the comprehensive exam following the clinical rotation, the faculty feels that the policy, implemented with minimal stress, has been extremely valuable. Giving our students the additional examination has provided many benefits: encouraging them to study and review material pertinent to their current rotations, enabling them to perform better overall in the laboratories during the clinical training period, and enhancing their preparation for the national certification examinations. [Tabular Data Omitted]

Kiehn is assistant professor of medical technology and Dr. Maehara is director, medical technology program, University of Nevada, Reno.