USE OF THE USMLE TO SELECT RESIDENTS

Many studies have examined the relationships between students' perform ances on the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Part I and Par t II examinations and their postgraduate clinical performances. Most s tudies have found a positive relationship between students' NBME exami nation scores and the ratings of residents' clinical performances and/ or scores on specialty board certification examinations. Surveys of re sidency directors have also shown that NBME scores are used as part of the process for selecting residents, although other data and other se lection criteria are considered more useful than the NBME scores. One area of continued concern is that a large body of data on the United S tates Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is not yet available. Howe ver, the predictive validity of the NBME scores supports the use of US MLE scores as part of the review process to screen potential residents . Residency directors should continue to use a variety of criteria in their final selection decisions and are encouraged to use their own pr ogram-specific data to establish and monitor particular cutoff scores for screening applicants.