Blueprint · COMLEX-USA Level 1

Required Knowledge & Content for COMLEX-USA Level 1 Examination

The COMLEX-USA examination series is designed to assess the osteopathic medical knowledge and fundamental clinical skills considered essential for osteopathic generalist physicians to practice osteopathic medicine. The foundation of COMLEX-USA is based on the osteopathic philosophy of whole person health care, underlying structure-function relationships and the interdependence of body systems, self-healing and self-regulatory mechanisms, and the osteopathic approach to patient care, including osteopathic manipulative medicine. COMLEX-USA is constructed in the context of clinical problem-solving that involves “Competency Domains” and “Clinical Presentations.”

Two Distinct Dimensions

The assessment focuses on two dimensions that continue to integrate:

• Osteopathic philosophy of whole person health care
• Underlying structure-function relationships
• Interdependence of body systems
• Self-healing and self-regulatory mechanisms, and
• Osteopathic approach to patient care including osteopathic manipulative medicine and OMT

Osteopathic principles and practices, by design, are integrated throughout all areas of the examination to reflect the way they permeate osteopathic medicine. The table below presents the major categories of the two dimensions, and the portion of the total content they constitute in the Level 1 examination.

Dimension 1 of the COMLEX-USA blueprint consists of seven Competency Domains, which represent the related sets of foundational abilities representing the required elements and outcomes that define the knowledge, skills, experience, attitudes, values, behaviors and established professional standards.

Dimension 2 consists of 10 Clinical Presentations, which represent the manner in which a particular patient, group of patients, or a community presents for osteopathic medical care.

To see retired blueprint information for exams prior to May 2019, Click here.