COMLEX-USA  · Level 2-PE

Assessment of Fundamental Clinical Skills

Examination Description

The COMLEX-USA Level 2-Performance Evaluation (Level 2-PE) provides an assessment of fundamental clinical skills. These skills are evaluated in the context of 12 clinical encounters and are required to be personally performed with standardized patients as appropriate in a timely, efficient, safe, and effective manner.

The Level 2- PE is the clinical skills component of COMLEX-USA that fulfills the public and licensing authority mandate for enhanced patient safety by documenting the clinical skills proficiency of graduates from osteopathic medical schools.

The examination augments the Level 2-Cognitive Evaluation (Level 2-CE) focused on osteopathic medical knowledge by providing an assessment of six fundamental clinical skills within two scored examination domains: the Humanistic Domain and the Biomedical/Biomechanical Domain.

Fundamental Clinical Skills Assessed

Humanistic Domain

• physician-patient communication
• interpersonal skills
• professionalism

Biomedical/Biomechanical Domain

• medical history-taking and physical examination skills
• osteopathic principles and osteopathic manipulative treatment
• documentation skills (including synthesis of clinical findings, integrated differential diagnosis, and formulation of a diagnostic and treatment plan)

What Passing Level 2-PE Means

Passing Level 2-PE indicates that the candidate has demonstrated competence in the clinical skills and osteopathic principles required to solve clinical problems and manage patient presentations for entry into graduate medical education and to prepare for lifelong learning.