Blueprint · COMLEX-USA Level 3

Required Knowledge & Content for COMLEX-USA Level 3 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. 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

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 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 community present for osteopathic medical care.