A Commentary on the Use of the Internal Medicine In-Training Examination

The Internal Medicine In-Training Examination (IM-ITE) is a test that has 340 questions in 11 content areas and a 7-hour time limit, and is administered annually in the fall. The test allows internal medicine residents to compare their medical knowledge with other residents at the same level of training and to enable individual programs to track residents' progress and evaluate and consider curriculum changes. Here, Wang et al review the literature available on the IM-ITE to determine which factors correlate with test scores, its utility in predicting a pass on the American Board of Medicine Certifying Examination, and its usefulness in program development and change.