The impact of large scale licensing examinations in highly developed countries: a systematic review

BMC Medical Education

Research Article

Lee Coombes¹  Julian Archer²  Tristan Price²  Sam Regan de Bere²  Nick Lynn²  Martin Roberts²  Tom Gale² 

[1] Centre for Medical Education, Cardiff University School of Medicine, Heath Park, Cardiff, UK;Collaboration for the Advancement of Medical Education Research and Assessment, Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine & Dentistry, Plymouth, Devon, UK;

关键词: National licensing examination;    Validity;    Impact;    Assessment;    Systematic review;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12909-016-0729-7

 received in 2016-03-10, accepted in 2016-08-08,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTo investigate the existing evidence base for the validity of large-scale licensing examinations including their impact.MethodsSystematic review against a validity framework exploring: Embase (Ovid Medline); Medline (EBSCO); PubMed; Wiley Online; ScienceDirect; and PsychINFO from 2005 to April 2015. All papers were included when they discussed national or large regional (State level) examinations for clinical professionals, linked to examinations in early careers or near the point of graduation, and where success was required to subsequently be able to practice. Using a standardized data extraction form, two independent reviewers extracted study characteristics, with the rest of the team resolving any disagreement. A validity framework was used as developed by the American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, and National Council on Measurement in Education to evaluate each paper’s evidence to support or refute the validity of national licensing examinations.Results24 published articles provided evidence of validity across the five domains of the validity framework. Most papers (n = 22) provided evidence of national licensing examinations relationships to other variables and their consequential validity. Overall there was evidence that those who do well on earlier or on subsequent examinations also do well on national testing. There is a correlation between NLE performance and some patient outcomes and rates of complaints, but no causal evidence has been established.ConclusionsThe debate around licensure examinations is strong on opinion but weak on validity evidence. This is especially true of the wider claims that licensure examinations improve patient safety and practitioner competence.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016