PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Patrick Brill-Edwards AU - Louis Couture AU - Gerald Evans AU - Peter Hamilton AU - Irene Hramiak AU - David Megran AU - Mary Lou Schmuck AU - Gary Cole AU - Nadia Mikhael AU - Geoff Norman TI - Predicting performance on the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada internal medicine written examination DP - 2001 Nov 13 TA - Canadian Medical Association Journal PG - 1305--1307 VI - 165 IP - 10 4099 - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/165/10/1305.short 4100 - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/165/10/1305.full SO - CMAJ2001 Nov 13; 165 AB - Background: Although the written component of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) internal medicine examination is important for obtaining licensure and certification as a specialist, no methods exist to predict a candidate's performance on the examination. Method: We obtained data from 5 Canadian universities from 1988 to 1998 in order to compare raw scores from the American Internal Medicine In-Training Examination (AIMI-TE) with raw scores and outcomes (pass or fail) of the written component of the RCPSC internal medicine examination. Results: Mean scores on the AIMI-TE correlated well with scores on the RCPSC internal medicine written examination for all postgraduate years (r = 0.62, r = 0.55 and r = 0.65 for postgraduate years 1, 2 and 3 respectively). Scores above the 50th percentile on the AIMI-TE were predictive of a low failure rate (< 1.5%) on the RCPSC internal medicine written examination, whereas scores at or below the 10th percentile were associated with a high failure rate (about 24%). Interpretation: Candidates who are eligible to take the written component of the RCPSC certification examination in internal medicine can use the AIMI-TE to predict their performance on the Canadian examination. The AIMI-TE is a useful test for residents in all levels of training, because the examination scores have a strong relation to expected performance on the Canadian examination for each year of postgraduate training.