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 Examining the Functioning and Reliability of the Family Medicine Milestones Examining the Functioning and Reliability of the Family Medicine Milestones 2017 Author(s) Peabody, Michael R, O’Neill, Thomas R, and Peterson, Lars E Topic(s) Education & Training Keyword(s) Graduate Medical Education, and Psychometrics Volume Journal of Graduate Medical Education Source Journal of Graduate Medical Education BACKGROUND : The Family Medicine (FM) Milestones are a framework designed to assess development of residents in key dimensions of physician competency. Residency programs use the milestones in semiannual reviews of resident performance from entry toward graduation. OBJECTIVE : To examine the functioning and reliability of the FM Milestones and to determine whether they measure the amount of a latent trait (eg, knowledge or ability) possessed by a resident or simply indicate where a resident falls along the training sequence. METHODS : This study utilized the Rasch Partial Credit model to examine academic year 2014-2015 ratings for 10 563 residents from 476 residency programs (postgraduate year [PGY] 1 = 3639; PGY-2 = 3562; PGY-3 = 3351; PGY-4 = 11). RESULTS : Reliability was exceptionally high at 0.99. Mean scores were 3.2 (SD = 1.3) for PGY-1; 5.0 (SD = 1.3) for PGY-2; 6.7 (SD = 1.2) for PGY-3; and 7.4 (SD = 1.0) for PGY-4. Keyform analysis showed a rating on 1 item was likely to be similar for all other items. CONCLUSIONS : Our findings suggest that FM Milestones seem to largely function as intended. Lack of spread in item difficulty and lack of variation in category probabilities show that FM Milestones do not measure the amount of a latent trait possessed by a resident, but rather describe where a resident falls along the training sequence. High reliability indicates residents are being rated in a stable manner as they progress through residency, and individual residents deviating from this rating structure warrant consideration by program leaders. ABFM Research Read all 2014 Aligning Expansion of Graduate Medical Education with Recent Recommendations for Reform. Go to Aligning Expansion of Graduate Medical Education with Recent Recommendations for Reform. 2019 “That Was Pretty Powerful”: a Qualitative Study of What Physicians Learn When Preparing for Their Maintenance-of-Certification Exams Go to “That Was Pretty Powerful”: a Qualitative Study of What Physicians Learn When Preparing for Their Maintenance-of-Certification Exams 2021 What Family Medicine Can Learn From Other Specialties Go to What Family Medicine Can Learn From Other Specialties 2021 Family Medicine Residents’ Experience During Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic Go to Family Medicine Residents’ Experience During Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Author(s) Peabody, Michael R, O’Neill, Thomas R, and Peterson, Lars E Topic(s) Education & Training Keyword(s) Graduate Medical Education, and Psychometrics Volume Journal of Graduate Medical Education Source Journal of Graduate Medical Education
ABFM Research Read all 2014 Aligning Expansion of Graduate Medical Education with Recent Recommendations for Reform. Go to Aligning Expansion of Graduate Medical Education with Recent Recommendations for Reform. 2019 “That Was Pretty Powerful”: a Qualitative Study of What Physicians Learn When Preparing for Their Maintenance-of-Certification Exams Go to “That Was Pretty Powerful”: a Qualitative Study of What Physicians Learn When Preparing for Their Maintenance-of-Certification Exams 2021 What Family Medicine Can Learn From Other Specialties Go to What Family Medicine Can Learn From Other Specialties 2021 Family Medicine Residents’ Experience During Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic Go to Family Medicine Residents’ Experience During Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic
2014 Aligning Expansion of Graduate Medical Education with Recent Recommendations for Reform. Go to Aligning Expansion of Graduate Medical Education with Recent Recommendations for Reform.
2019 “That Was Pretty Powerful”: a Qualitative Study of What Physicians Learn When Preparing for Their Maintenance-of-Certification Exams Go to “That Was Pretty Powerful”: a Qualitative Study of What Physicians Learn When Preparing for Their Maintenance-of-Certification Exams
2021 What Family Medicine Can Learn From Other Specialties Go to What Family Medicine Can Learn From Other Specialties
2021 Family Medicine Residents’ Experience During Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic Go to Family Medicine Residents’ Experience During Early Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic