AZCOM Becomes One of Only Four D.O. Programs to Host Pilot Core Competency Assessment

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) permanently discontinued the COMLEX-USA Level 2 PE exam, which has been required for all osteopathic medicine students to take as part of the COMLEX-USA series. This assessment, which evaluated a student’s osteopathic clinical skills competency through participation in a series of simulated patient encounters, was discontinued due to NBOME reimagining how this exam could be delivered.

To preserve the high integrity of this national standardized evaluation and to better meet the varying needs of students who would take the assessment, NBOME developed a new pilot version of the Core Competency Capstone for Osteopathic Physicians (C3DO). Only four colleges of osteopathic medicine were selected to administer this new pilot program, and Midwestern University’s Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine (AZCOM) was one of them. Overseen by Randall Nydam, Ph.D. (AZCOM), Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, all third-year AZCOM students convened in June to complete the C3DO.

This initial part was organized and hosted by Thomas O’Hare, D.O. (AZCOM), Professor; Jacqueline J. Speigel, M.S., PA-C, DFAAPA, CHSE, Director of Clinical Skills and Simulation and Professor, College of Health Sciences; and the staff of the Midwestern University Clinical Skills and Simulation Center. AZCOM students performed a standardized assessment and clinical skills competency to evaluate their osteopathic clinician skills. Each student had eight different patient encounters that tested their history-taking and physical examination skills, performance of osteopathic manipulative treatment, clinical decision-making skills, and interpersonal and communication skills for various medical complaints. Each session was recorded and will be evaluated by the national faculty of the NBOME. Eventually, the results will be shared with AZCOM faculty.

As one of the first schools to run the pilot of the C3DO, AZCOM has had an important foundational role in shaping the future of clinical skills assessments for our students and all osteopathic medical students across the country. The C3DO represents a continuation of the active and ongoing role AZCOM plays in the growth, development, and improvement of osteopathic education at the local and national levels.