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Who We Are
About The NBOME
The National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME) is an independent, nongovernmental, nonprofit organization. Since our founding in 1934, we have been recognized for excellence in the national and international arenas of osteopathic physician testing and evaluation. We produce a number of osteopathically distinct assessments and partner with other organizations on their assessment programs.
Mission
Protecting the Public by Providing the Means to Assess Competencies for Osteopathic Medicine & Related Health Care Professions
With the patient as our North Star, we work to ensure high-quality assessment services for the osteopathic profession and related healthcare professions. We are proud of the valid, reliable, and fair assessment tools that help ensure the public is treated by competent, caring healthcare professionals.
Vision
To Be The Global Leader in Assessment for Osteopathic Medicine & Related Health Care Professions
As the leader in osteopathically distinctive assessment, we strive to advance the quality of assessments across the education, training, and practice continuum in osteopathic medicine and other healthcare professions.
Our Values
Patient Safety
Our Primary Goal
We pledge our priority to uphold the public’s trust for safe and high quality health care from the individual patient to the global population.
Integrity
Doing the right thing, the right way
We carry out our mission with actions, communications, and standards that are always honest, professional, and fair with the highest regard and respect for individuals.
Accountability
Owning our Outcomes
We are responsible and accountable for our behaviors, actions, and outcomes – we all own the success as one team and take personal and professional responsibility.
Excellence
Doing our best
We strive to achieve the highest quality in our work, in our relationships, and in our service – embracing change, and continuously improving and learning.
Collaboration
Working together
We operate as a team in a climate of trust, respect, and cooperation toward each other, our constituents, and our partners.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Opportunity for all
We value the diversity of all people and their backgrounds, commit to representing their needs and advocating for equity and inclusion in our policies, products and services.
Our Leaders
John R. Gimpel, DO, MEd
President & Chief Executive Officer
Lori A. Kemper, DO, MS
Board Chair
Welcome from the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME). Founded in 1934, the NBOME is an independent, nongovernmental, nonprofit organization with the mission of protecting the public by providing the means to assess competencies for osteopathic medicine and related health care professions.
We work closely with key stakeholders to develop services and programs that meet the assessment needs of state medical and osteopathic medical licensing boards, osteopathic medical students and residents, practicing physicians, medical educators and colleges of osteopathic medicine, residency program directors, national professional organizations, and the national and international testing and medical licensure communities.
For over 90 years, the NBOME has been recognized for excellence in the national and the international arenas of assessment of osteopathic physicians and related health care professionals. Comprising leading osteopathic physicians across the United States and public, non-physician members, the NBOME Board of Directors provides strategic direction to a highly dedicated team of more than 130 professional staff members.
The NBOME National Faculty, with expertise in assessment for the health professions, osteopathic medical practice, undergraduate and graduate medical education, and physician licensure and regulation, work with our staff to perform a wide array of duties for high-quality test development and delivery, standard-setting, continuous quality improvement, innovations in testing, and research initiatives.
The Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination series (COMLEX-USA) is the only examination series universally accepted for osteopathic physician licensure in all licensing jurisdictions within the United States. As such, COMLEX-USA is recognized by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB), required for accreditation of DO-granting medical schools, recognized by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), used by most residency program directors in evaluating DO applicants in the context of holistic review. The exam series is endorsed by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), the American Association of Osteopathic Examiners, the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, and the American Medical Association.
In 2023 and 2024, numerous leadership alliances and organizations in eight different specialties stood up to advocate for the value added by DO residency and fellowship program applicants, and for COMLEX-USA as their licensing exam credential. Doing so helped promote historic high match and placement rates for DO applicants in those years.
Our advocacy initiatives have been instrumental in national and international recognition of the competencies that DOs possess, including the value that comes with the DO degree and the COMLEX-USA credential. In 2020, after a thorough and comprehensive review, the Medical Board of Australia deemed competent authority to the NBOME and COMLEX-USA for US-trained DOs for medical licensure (registration). In addition, the NBOME worked tirelessly as a supporter of the recent global recognition by the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities.
The NBOME invests considerable ongoing resources into assuring that COMLEX-USA meets the evolving practice of osteopathic medicine. Continuous quality improvement by the NBOME in this regard was lauded by the FSMB Journal of Medical Regulation Editor-in-Chief Heidi M. Koenig, MD, who described COMLEX-USA as representing a “good example of how medical examiners can update their assessment systems to stay ahead of the curve of change….(assisting) in protecting the public and ensuring quality in medical practice, keeping our patients safe.”1
The NBOME continues to implement significant enhancements to the test-taking experience, demonstrating our ongoing concern for candidate wellness as they develop and improve their competencies in this high-stakes environment. In addition, our core value of diversity, equity, and inclusion drives enhancements to reduce bias and stereotypes that can be fostered by inattention to language or images used in assessments and to ensure fairness for all.
In addition to COMLEX-USA, the NBOME develops and administers the COMAT achievement tests in over 20 clinical and foundational biomedical science disciplines and subjects; the COMVEX examination for physician revalidation; and the COMSAE and WelCOM formative assessments for self-assessment and learning.
We are proud to provide competency assessment services in partnership for numerous specialty colleges and certification boards and other health professions, including the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners. In addition, the NBOME partners with the AOA on longitudinal assessment for osteopathic continuous certification in 12 specialties using our CATALYST platform.
As a charter member of the Coalition for Physician Accountability, the NBOME is proud of our commitment to our core value of patient safety and protecting the public, which we believe positively impacts the health care received by patients and communities far and wide. This important role and responsibility in professional self-regulation helps to solidify public trust in the osteopathic medical profession and medicine and health care overall.
We hope you enjoy and learn from your visit to our website and invite you to return frequently to stay informed of our initiatives.
Sincerely yours,
John R. Gimpel, DO, MEd, FACOFP, FAAFP President and CEO
1 Koenig, HM. From The Editor. Journal of Medical Regulation. 1 October 2018; 104 (3): 3. doi: https://doi.org/10.30770/2572-1852-104.3.3
About Osteopathic Medicine
The distinct practice of osteopathic medicine was born of the philosophy that an absence of symptoms does not necessarily mean good health. Doctors of osteopathic medicine (DOs) body, mind, and spirit are interconnected and are all essential to maintaining health and wellbeing. This philosophy permeates everything a DO does and allows them to see patients as partners on their healthcare journey.
Our History
The NBOME has a long, outstanding history as an organization founded on the goal to provide the means to assess competencies for osteopathic medicine and related health care professionals. Along the way, we have achieved many milestones, both in the United States and internationally. While we remain committed to our roots, we look optimistically towards what the future holds.
Who We Work With
The NBOME works closely with osteopathic organizations and those across the house of medicine, nationally and internationally, to develop and administer valid, reliable, and fair assessments of competencies that contribute to ensuring patients are cared for by competent health professionals.
Our Partners
Frequently Asked Questions
We’ve compiled answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about the NBOME, our products, and services. If you can’t find the information you’re looking for, please feel free to reach out to us.