title: Does Taking the Fellowship In-Service Hematopathology Examination and Performance Relate to Success on the American Board of Pathology Hematology Examination?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The biannual Fellow In-Service Hematopathology Examination (FISHE) assesses knowledge in five content areas. We examined the relationship between taking the FISHE and performance on it with outcomes on the first attempted American Board of Pathology Hematology subspecialty certifying examination (ABP-HE).
  
  
  METHODS
  The pass rate between the ABP-HE candidates who took the spring FISHE and those who did not were compared. The likelihood of fellows passing the ABP-HE based on their percentiles on the FISHE was also assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ABP-HE candidates who took the spring FISHE had a higher pass rate (96.4%) than those who did not (76.1%, P < .001). Spring FISHE performance, including total percentile and percentiles in four of five FISHE content areas, was only a weak predictor of passing the ABP-HE.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Candidates who take the spring FISHE do better on the ABP-HE than those who do not. Most fellows passed the first attempted ABP-HE regardless of FISHE performance. Whether this is due to fellows making use of the FISHE as a self-evaluation tool to help identify and then correct their knowledge deficiencies remains to be determined.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas sara.monaghan@utsouthwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Sara A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Monaghan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA.
authors.forename: Raymond E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Felgar
authors.affiliation: Department of Evaluation, Measurement, and Assessment, American Society for Clinical Pathology, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Melissa A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.affiliation: Department of Evaluation, Measurement, and Assessment, American Society for Clinical Pathology, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Asma M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Anastasi
authors.affiliation: American Board of Pathology, Tampa, FL Department of Educational Psychology, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
authors.forename: Aarti P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Bellara
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
authors.forename: Henry M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Rinder
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
authors.forename: Rachel L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Sargent
authors.affiliation: Department of Evaluation, Measurement, and Assessment, American Society for Clinical Pathology, Chicago, IL.
authors.forename: Jay
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA American Board of Pathology, Tampa, FL.
authors.forename: Steven H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Swerdlow
authors.affiliation: American Board of Pathology, Tampa, FL.
authors.forename: Rebecca L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D002568:Certification; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States
keywords: Board certification; Board passing rates; Hematopathology fellowship; In-training examination; Medical knowledge; Pathology graduate medical education