Commentary on “Hotel Room #1438”

Buyske, Jo; Barry, Carol L.; Ibáñez, Beatriz

doi:10.1097/sla.0000000000004938

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…Given these implications, as well as the variation in board certifying practices among specialties, it is important to ensure that the certifying process is equitable. Barriers in the format and administration of the oral board examinations have been previously described and may affect military recruits, nursing mothers, and other candidates who are disproportionately disadvantaged in terms of travel, cost, or other factors . In addition, recent studies have found differences in demographics of physician pass rates for oral board examinations, with candidates from minoritized racial and ethnic groups, as well as female candidates who are married with children at the time of internship being less likely to pass certifying examinations on their first attempt .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Barriers in the format and administration of the oral board examinations have been previously described and may affect military recruits, nursing mothers, and other candidates who are disproportionately disadvantaged in terms of travel, cost, or other factors. 3 , 4 In addition, recent studies have found differences in demographics of physician pass rates for oral board examinations, with candidates from minoritized racial and ethnic groups, as well as female candidates who are married with children at the time of internship being less likely to pass certifying examinations on their first attempt. 5 These findings highlight potential barriers to passing oral board examinations that may contribute to well-described racial-, ethnic-, and gender-based disparities in medical specialties.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Variation in Oral Board Examination Accommodations Among Specialties

Rowe,

Charles,

Luo

et al. 2024

JAMA Netw Open

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ImportanceBoard certification can have broad implications for candidates’ career trajectories, and prior research has found sociodemographic disparities in pass rates. Barriers in the format and administration of the oral board examinations may disproportionately affect certain candidates.ObjectiveTo characterize oral certifying examination policies and practices of the 16 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)–accredited specialties that require oral examinations.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsThis cross-sectional study was conducted from March 1 to April 15, 2023, using data on oral examination practices and policies (examination format, dates, and setting; lactation accommodations; and accommodations for military deployment, family emergency, or medical leave) as well as the gender composition of the specialties’ boards of directors obtained from websites, telephone calls and email correspondence with certifying specialists. The percentages of female residents and residents of racial and ethnic backgrounds who are historically underrepresented in medicine (URM) in each specialty as of December 31, 2021, were obtained from the Graduate Medical Education 2021 to 2022 report.Main Outcome and MeasuresFor each specialty, accommodation scores were measured by a modified objective scoring system (score range: 1-13, with higher scores indicating more accommodations). Poisson regression was used to assess the association between accommodation score and the diversity of residents in that specialty, as measured by the percentages of female and URM residents. Linear regression was used to assess whether gender diversity of a specialty’s board of directors was associated with accommodation scores.ResultsIncluded in the analysis were 16 specialties with a total of 46 027 residents (26 533 males [57.6%]) and 233 members of boards of directors (152 males [65.2%]). The mean (SD) total accommodation score was 8.28 (3.79), and the median (IQR) score was 9.25 (5.00-12.00). No association was found between test accommodation score and the percentage of female or URM residents. However, for each 1-point increase in the test accommodation score, the relative risk that a resident was female was 1.05 (95% CI, 0.96-1.16), and the relative risk that an individual was a URM resident was 1.04 (95% CI, 1.00-1.07). An association was found between the percentage of female board members and the accommodation score: for each 10% increase in the percentage of board members who were female, the accommodation score increased by 1.20 points (95% CI, 0.23-2.16 points; P = .03).Conclusions and RelevanceThis cross-sectional study found considerable variability in oral board examination accommodations among ACGME-accredited specialties, highlighting opportunities for improvement and standardization. Promoting diversity in leadership bodies may lead to greater accommodations for examinees in extenuating circumstances.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%