1815 - The Use of Practice Analysis to Develop a Content Outline for a Board Certifying Examination

Friday, February 20, 2026

5:00 PM - 6:30 PM AST

Presenting Author(s)

VN

Vu Nguyen, MD

Professor and Chair
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Hoover, Alabama, United States

Co-Author(s)

CG

Carolyn Geis, MD

Immediate-Past Chair Part I Examination Committee
ABPMR
Daytona Beach, Florida, United States
MR

Mikaela M. Raddatz, PhD

Director of Psychometrics and Research
ABPMR
NA, Minnesota, United States
KK

Kevin Krafft, MD

Board of Directors
ABPMR
NA, Idaho, United States

Submitter(s)

VN

Vu Nguyen, MD

University of Alabama at Birmingham
Hoover, Alabama, United States

Objectives: The goal of the study was to develop an updated content outline for the PM&R Part I certifying exam that embodied the breadth of the specialty including the knowledge and skills required of a competent PM&R physician upon completion of residency training.

Design: Pursuant to this goal, the rigorous research methodology, Practice Analysis, was employed. This paper describes the process of practice analysis including project planning, use of focus groups, survey development and dissemination, and analysis and decision making to determine content and domain weighting for the ABPMR Part I Exam. This information was used by Subject Matter Experts (SME) to assemble a revised content outline to be used for future Board Part I Examinations in PM&R.

Results: Of the total 11,458 emails sent, 2,511 recipients responded with completion of all or some portion of the survey. This represented a 22% response rate. Of the total respondents, 2,109 completed all portions of the survey and 402 completed some portions of the survey. Demographic characteristics of respondents who provided complete responses were compared to those who provided incomplete responses. For those who completed the survey, their demographics showed 14 as the median number of years in practice; 87.2% of respondents reported working full-time; 42.5% were private practitioners; 64.6% were working in an outpatient setting, and 49.3% identified that their practice focus was on musculoskeletal medicine.
From this practice analysis, an updated content outline was created for the Board certifying Part I Examination.

Conclusions: For the first time since its inception in 1947, the content outline of the ABPMR Part I Examination was successfully updated utilizing a research methodology. This report described the novel utilization of the rigorous research method of practice analysis to successfully achieve this goal.