COMLEX-USA
Encyclopedia
COMLEX-USA or The Comprehensive Osteopathic
Medical Licensing Examination of the United States is a series of three osteopathic medical licensing examinations administered by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) similar to the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). COMLEX-USA is the most common pathway by which osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) apply for licensure, and is accepted in all 50 states. The 3-digit standard scores of COMLEX-USA Level 1, Level 2-CE, and Level 3 have a range of 200-800 and a mean of 500. 400 is the lowest passing score for steps one and two; 350 for step three.
. It is administered in one day and consists of two, four-hour exam sessions separated by a 40-minute break. Each four-hour session also includes a ten-minute break. Candidates are expected to know the basic mechanisms of health and disease process. Specifically, level one covers basic medical sciences, including:
, consists of two parts: Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation (CE) and Level 2-Performance Evaluation (PE). Level 2-CE requires candidates to demonstrate knowledge of clinical concepts and medical decision-making. It is problem-based and symptoms-based, integrating the clinical disciplines of:
Level 2-PE was introduced in 2005. It is a one-day, seven-hour clinical skills examination and utilizes standardized patients (actors trained to present clinical symptoms) to test clinical skills. The only available testing site is in Conshohocken, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. Specifically, candidates must demonstrate proficiency in:
Osteopathy
Osteopathy and osteopathic medicine are often used interchangeably for the philosophy and system of alternative medical practice first proposed by A. T. Still MD, DO in 1874....
Medical Licensing Examination of the United States is a series of three osteopathic medical licensing examinations administered by the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) similar to the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). COMLEX-USA is the most common pathway by which osteopathic physicians (D.O.s) apply for licensure, and is accepted in all 50 states. The 3-digit standard scores of COMLEX-USA Level 1, Level 2-CE, and Level 3 have a range of 200-800 and a mean of 500. 400 is the lowest passing score for steps one and two; 350 for step three.
COMLEX-USA Level 1
COMLEX-USA Level 1 is taken after the second year of medical schoolMedical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
. It is administered in one day and consists of two, four-hour exam sessions separated by a 40-minute break. Each four-hour session also includes a ten-minute break. Candidates are expected to know the basic mechanisms of health and disease process. Specifically, level one covers basic medical sciences, including:
- anatomyAnatomyAnatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
- behavioral science
- biochemistryBiochemistryBiochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
- microbiologyMicrobiologyMicrobiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
- osteopathic principles
- pathologyPathologyPathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word pathology is from Ancient Greek , pathos, "feeling, suffering"; and , -logia, "the study of". Pathologization, to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling....
- pharmacologyPharmacologyPharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...
- physiologyPhysiologyPhysiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
COMLEX-USA Level 2
COMLEX-USA Level 2, taken during the fourth year of medical schoolMedical school
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution—or part of such an institution—that teaches medicine. Degree programs offered at medical schools often include Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, Bachelor/Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, master's degree, or other post-secondary...
, consists of two parts: Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation (CE) and Level 2-Performance Evaluation (PE). Level 2-CE requires candidates to demonstrate knowledge of clinical concepts and medical decision-making. It is problem-based and symptoms-based, integrating the clinical disciplines of:
- emergency medicineEmergency medicineEmergency medicine is a medical specialty in which physicians care for patients with acute illnesses or injuries which require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency medicine physicians diagnose a variety of illnesses and undertake acute...
- family medicineFamily medicineFamily medicine is a medical specialty devoted to comprehensive health care for people of all ages. It is a division of primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, sexes, diseases, and parts of the body...
- internal medicineInternal medicineInternal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
- obstetricsObstetricsObstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
/gynecology - osteopathic principles
- pediatricsPediatricsPediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
- psychiatryPsychiatryPsychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
- surgerySurgerySurgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
Level 2-PE was introduced in 2005. It is a one-day, seven-hour clinical skills examination and utilizes standardized patients (actors trained to present clinical symptoms) to test clinical skills. The only available testing site is in Conshohocken, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia. Specifically, candidates must demonstrate proficiency in:
- history taking and physical examination skills
- integrated differential diagnosisDifferential diagnosisA differential diagnosis is a systematic diagnostic method used to identify the presence of an entity where multiple alternatives are possible , and may also refer to any of the included candidate alternatives A differential diagnosis (sometimes abbreviated DDx, ddx, DD, D/Dx, or ΔΔ) is a...
and clinical problem solving - written communication and synthesis of clinical findings (SOAP note format)
- osteopathic principles and/or osteopathic manipulative treatment
COMLEX-USA Level 3
The final examamination, COMLEX-USA Level 3, is typically taken after starting residency and, like step two, covers the clinical disciplines of medicine, including:- emergency medicineEmergency medicineEmergency medicine is a medical specialty in which physicians care for patients with acute illnesses or injuries which require immediate medical attention. While not usually providing long-term or continuing care, emergency medicine physicians diagnose a variety of illnesses and undertake acute...
- family medicineFamily medicineFamily medicine is a medical specialty devoted to comprehensive health care for people of all ages. It is a division of primary care that provides continuing and comprehensive health care for the individual and family across all ages, sexes, diseases, and parts of the body...
- internal medicineInternal medicineInternal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
- obstetricsObstetricsObstetrics is the medical specialty dealing with the care of all women's reproductive tracts and their children during pregnancy , childbirth and the postnatal period...
/gynecology - osteopathic principles
- pediatricsPediatricsPediatrics or paediatrics is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants, children, and adolescents. A medical practitioner who specializes in this area is known as a pediatrician or paediatrician...
- psychiatryPsychiatryPsychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
- surgerySurgerySurgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
External links
- http://www.nbome.org
- http://www.osteopathic.org
- http://www.combankmed.com
- http://www.comquestmed.com