Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions (05/07/25) Virani, Meet; Fleischer, Sarah; Peterson, Lars E.

The Family Medicine Certification Longitudinal Assessment (FMCLA) is associated with increases in scores compared with the traditional 1-day Family Medicine Certification Examination (FMCE), according to a new study. Researchers used American Board of Family Medicine data from 2008-2023, and they created a predictive model of FMCE performance using linear regression with the 2008 exam cohort. The model was applied to the 2009-2011 cohorts, who could select the FMCLA starting in 2019. There were 9,699 individuals in the FMCE predictive model and 12,851 in the FMCLA vs. FMCE analysis. Factors associated with selection of the FMCLA included being younger, female, U.S. medical graduates, and having lower previous FMCE scores. In analyses adjusting for propensity to select FMCE, the FMCLA was correlated with 39 points more than predicted, and physicians who did well scored 100 more points than predicted. Meanwhile, physicians who were predicted to fail scored lower. Scores near the passing score were not affected by the exam delivery method. The findings support "cognitive psychology principles such as spaced repetition and immediate feedback that can strengthen long-term knowledge retention," the researchers conclude.

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