JAOA • Vol 107 • No 6 • June 2007 • 213-214
Response
Philip C. Slocum, DO
Professor of Medicine Vice President for Medical Affairs and Dean A.T.
Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine Missouri
I thank Isaac J. Kirstein, DO, for his thoughtful comments about the
September 2006 JAOA article I cowrote with Mrs
Louder.1 Dr Kirstein
is correct to point out that the cohort was composed entirely of students
enrolled at A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine
in Mo. I briefly reviewed the medical literature on the effects of curriculum
on standardized testing and could find little support for arguing that
curriculum plays a significant role in
outcomes.2 Though I
suppose a different curricular approach might have resulted in different
outcomes, I doubt that theory. I encourage an ambitious reader to seek an
answer to the question Dr Kirstein's letter suggests.
Dr Kirstein also argues that the formula Mrs Louder and I created has
little "effect on removing selection bias against COM [college of
osteopathic medicine] graduates." I agree. That was not the intended
goal of our study. What the study does provide, however, is a gauge that
program directors at residency programs accredited by the Accreditation
Council for Graduate Medical Education can use to make reasonable comparisons
if they are otherwise impressed with an osteopathically trained candidate. Our
study was not intended to answer any of the larger questions Dr Kirstein
rightly poses.
References
1. Slocum PC, Louder JS. How to predict USMLE scores from COMLEX-USA
scores: a guide for directors of ACGME-accredited residency programs.
J Am Osteopath Assoc.2006; 106:568
-569.[Abstract/Free Full Text]2. Norman GR, van der Vleuten CPM, Newble DI, eds.
International Handbook of Research in Medical
Education. Norwell, Mass: Kluwer Academic Publishers;2002
.
