How residency programs evaluate DO applicant USMLE, COMLEX scores

For osteopathic medical students, the decision about which series of licensure examinations to take—or pursuing the option to take both the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) in addition to the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX-USA)—can have downstream effects for their residency training options.

The COMLEX is necessary for graduation, while USMLE scores—AMA policy advocates that the exams be viewed equally—are more commonly used as a metric in the residency-selection process. 

What should osteopathic medical students know about how the exams are used to evaluate residency applicants? Recent data and insight from faculty members offer insight on that question. 

In this article, medical students will get valuable information regarding:

• How programs view the USMLE versus COMLEX exam series.
• Why maximizing exam performance is important on any licensure exam.
• How Step and COMLEX performance factor into interview invite decisions.
• How performing well on Step 2 can help expand your GME options.
• Why the exams may carry less weight for programs using wholistic review.