Diplomate Spotlight Opening Doors with Board Certification: A Conversation with Long Standing Diplomate Joseph Cook Read Opening Doors with Board Certification: A Conversation with Long Standing Diplomate Joseph Cook
Phoenix Newsletter - July 2025 Available Now: 2026 5-Year Cycle Registration Read Available Now: 2026 5-Year Cycle Registration
Home Research Research Library Differences in Physician Performance and Self-rated Confidence on High- and Low-Stakes Knowledge Assessments in Board Certification. Differences in Physician Performance and Self-rated Confidence on High- and Low-Stakes Knowledge Assessments in Board Certification. 2023 Author(s) Price, David W, Wang, Ting, O’Neill, Thomas R, Bazemore, Andrew W, and Newton, Warren P Topic(s) Family Medicine Certification Keyword(s) Continuing Certification Questionnaire, and Self-Assessment And Lifelong Learning Volume Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions Source Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions INTRODUCTION: Evidence links assessment to optimal learning, affirming that physicians are more likely to study, learn, and practice skills when some form of consequence (“stakes”) may result from an assessment. We lack evidence, however, on how physicians’ confidence in their knowledge relates to performance on assessments, and whether this varies based on the stakes of the assessment. METHODS: Our retrospective repeated-measures design compared differences in patterns of physician answer accuracy and answer confidence among physicians participating in both a high-stakes and a low-stakes longitudinal assessment of the American Board of Family Medicine. RESULTS: After 1 and 2 years, participants were more often correct but less confident in their accuracy on a higher-stakes longitudinal knowledge assessment compared with a lower-stakes assessment. There were no differences in question difficulty between the two platforms. Variation existed between platforms in time spent answering questions, use of resources to answer questions, and perceived question relevance to practice. DISCUSSION: This novel study of physician certification suggests that the accuracy of physician performance increases with higher stakes, even as self-reported confidence in their knowledge declines. It suggests that physicians may be more engaged in higher-stakes compared with lower-stakes assessments. With medical knowledge growing exponentially, these analyses provide an example of the complementary roles of higher- and lower-stakes knowledge assessment in supporting physician learning during continuing specialty board certification. ABFM Research Read all 2008 Adding conversational interviews to a patient simulator Go to Adding conversational interviews to a patient simulator 2009 The measure of family medicine Go to The measure of family medicine 2022 Advances in the Cognitive Science and Their Implications for ABFM Knowledge Assessment Go to Advances in the Cognitive Science and Their Implications for ABFM Knowledge Assessment 2011 Family physician participation in maintenance of certification Go to Family physician participation in maintenance of certification
Author(s) Price, David W, Wang, Ting, O’Neill, Thomas R, Bazemore, Andrew W, and Newton, Warren P Topic(s) Family Medicine Certification Keyword(s) Continuing Certification Questionnaire, and Self-Assessment And Lifelong Learning Volume Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions Source Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions
ABFM Research Read all 2008 Adding conversational interviews to a patient simulator Go to Adding conversational interviews to a patient simulator 2009 The measure of family medicine Go to The measure of family medicine 2022 Advances in the Cognitive Science and Their Implications for ABFM Knowledge Assessment Go to Advances in the Cognitive Science and Their Implications for ABFM Knowledge Assessment 2011 Family physician participation in maintenance of certification Go to Family physician participation in maintenance of certification
2008 Adding conversational interviews to a patient simulator Go to Adding conversational interviews to a patient simulator
2022 Advances in the Cognitive Science and Their Implications for ABFM Knowledge Assessment Go to Advances in the Cognitive Science and Their Implications for ABFM Knowledge Assessment
2011 Family physician participation in maintenance of certification Go to Family physician participation in maintenance of certification