Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41726089›Full record

ArticleJournal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open2026

Declining Performance on the Qualifying Examination: Modeling of a Potential Inflection Point in Emergency Medicine.

Suzanne R White, Michael Gottlieb, Felix K Ankel, Melissa A Barton, Yvette Calderon, Susan E Farrell, Diane L Gorgas, Lynne M Holden, Laura Hopson, Oladele Osisami and 2 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Suzanne R WhiteDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, USA.
Michael GottliebDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Felix K AnkelDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Regions Hospital, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA.
Melissa A BartonAmerican Board of Emergency Medicine, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Yvette CalderonDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Health System, New York City, New York, USA.
Susan E FarrellDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Diane L GorgasDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Ohio State College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Lynne M HoldenDepartment of Emergency Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.
Laura HopsonDepartment of Emergency Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
Oladele OsisamiDepartment of Emergency Medicine, New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York, USA.
Mary M JohnstonAmerican Board of Emergency Medicine, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Kevin B JoldersmaAmerican Board of Emergency Medicine, East Lansing, Michigan, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Objectives: To investigate longitudinal trends in the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Qualifying Examination (QE) performance, identify statistically significant inflection points in pass rates, and determine factors associated with the recent decline observed in 2022. Methods: This was a retrospective, observational study conducted in 2 phases. Phase 1 analyzed all QE attempts from 1980 to 2024 ( Results: Three statistically significant changepoints were identified: 1988, 2003, and 2022. Although increases in pass rates were noted in 1988 and 2003, 2022 was marked by a decline in pass rates with a steeper drop post-2022 (slope from 2016 to 2022 = -0.17 vs slope 2022 to 2024 = -0.67). From 2016 to 2022, MD graduates had a lesser decline in performance compared with non-MD peers. After 2022, those trained during the COVID pandemic also experienced a lesser decline. Conclusion: ABEM QE pass rates experienced 3 major inflection points since 1980, with the most recent occurring in 2022 and representing a meaningful decline. Physician-level characteristics, particularly medical school degree type and COVID-era training, were significantly associated with this trend.

Indexed as

board certificationemergency medicinemedical education

Identifiers

PMID41726089
PMCPMC12924182

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.