Timing of Certification Stage Completion Associated with Subsequent Certification Exam Outcomes Among Board-Certified Family Physicians

Objective: To assess the relationship between the timing of certification stage completion and subsequent certification examination outcomes among board-certified family physicians (FPs) Methods: We analyzed administrative data from the American Board of Family Medicine to determine whether timely completion of certification stage, that is, completing all stage requirements before the deadline, was associated with FPs’ passing their subsequent examination to continue their certification and their examination score. Results: Among 22,122 FPs, 79.7% completed their stage timely while 20.3% did so past the deadline. After adjusting for potential confounders, FPs with timely stage completion were twice more likely to pass the examination (O.R. =2.03, P < .01) and scored 24 points higher (P < .01) compared with their counterparts with late completion. Conclusion: While the difference in examination score was trivial, late compared with timely completion of certification stage was associated with doubled risks of FPs failing the examination. This study offered an invaluable insight for improving the certification process and ensuring the competence of FPs.