The effect of an end-of-clerkship review session on NBME psychiatry subject exam scores.

Objective: The NBME Psychiatry Subject Examination (PSE) is used throughout North America to test MS-III end-of-clerkship knowledge; yet, literature on PSE preparatory methods remains sparse. This study assesses the effect of a curriculum intervention on NBME PSE scores.

Methods: An optional 1.5-hour review session and accompanying fill-in-the-blank handout was offered to 62 MS-III students 3 days before their exam. Students who did not attend the session were e-mailed the handout with completed answers. The primary outcome measure was a change in scores, with students in the previous year serving as the control group.

Results: The average raw PSE score of students offered the review session was 84.53, versus 77.15 for matched controls (p <0.0001). The effect size for the intervention was 0.89.

Conclusions: This study may suggest that offering a comprehensive review session to third-year medical students 3 days before their NBME PSE significantly improves their scores.