COVID-19 Adjustments/Protocols

Clerkships

The clinical education of the class of 2022 was disrupted due to COVID.  Every student had a reduced in person clinical experience. The order of their rotations and their site assignments led to differing volumes of patient encounters in person and by telehealth. We assured their competencies through written and virtual evaluation of the learning objectives in the syllabi via alternative distant learning modules and meetings. COMAT exams were administered to assess medical knowledge.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBOME) implemented a self-proctored version of the COMAT exam (COMAT-SP). During the 2020-2021 academic year, the COMAT-SP exam was administered remotely at the end of each core rotation, allowing students to take the exam safely in a remote setting. According to the NBOME, during the 2020-2021 testing cycle, 35 Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine administered the COMAT-SP (89% of all COMAT exams). This will be specifically noted below for each corresponding rotation where this was applied.