title: Correlates of performance of the ECFMG Clinical Skills Assessment: influences of candidate characteristics on performance.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Since 1998, over 30,000 international medical graduates (IMGs) have taken the ECFMG CSA. Although candidate background variables have been shown to predict basic and clinical science performance, little work has focused on the relationships between candidate characteristics and clinical skills performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether candidate characteristics were related to CSA pass/fail status.
  
  
  METHODS
  Logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the relationships between candidate characteristics and CSA pass/fail status for a sample of 11,690 IMGs over a two-year period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Results indicated that gender, English language proficiency, recent medical school graduation, and clinical science performance (USMLE Step 2) were all related to clinical skills proficiency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results provide additional support for the validity of CSA pass/fail decisions.
authors.affiliation: The Educational Commission for Froeign Medical Graduates, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. mvanzanten@ecfmg.org
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Zanten
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Boulet
authors.forename: Danette W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: McKinley
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002568:Certification; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D005550:Foreign Medical Graduates / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States