Michigan State University

College of Osteopathic Medicine

COMAT

Required Subject Examinations

All MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine students are required to take the National Board of Medical Examiners COMAT examinations, required on the last Friday of the rotations. Absences, changes or delays must be approved as outlined within the course syllabus.  

Students are also required to take the Osteopathic Principles and Practice examination, which is not associated with a clinical rotation but is an assessment of students’ understanding of OPP. Absences, changes or delays must be approved as outlined within the course syllabus.

Exam Registration

Each month students receive an email announcement with instructions for accessing the COMAT subject exam registration website. Once registered, a confirmation email is sent to the student.  

Process for Registration: 

  1. Log in to your Kobiljak schedule.
  2. Select the registration link found under the COMAT column of your schedule, corresponding with the appropriate rotation. (NOTE: For OPP COMAT only, select the View my Clerkship Requirements button and select the Register link located under OPP On-Line Exam.)
  3. Select a testing location. Note that the hospital exam sites (Henry Ford Genesys, Henry Ford Macomb, Lakeland Healthcare, McLaren Bay Region, Mercy Health, Metro-UM Health and Munson Medical) are only available to students based within that hospital. Students based at all other sites must choose from the testing locations of DMC, Macomb or East Lansing.
  4. Select a testing time slot and exam discipline. Note that if you need to change your selection before submitting, you may do so by utilizing the Clear Selection row.  Print this page before selecting the Submit Selection – Changes button.
  5. To change your selection after submission. Repeat steps 1 and 2. You’ll need to clear your originally submitted selection, then re-select and re-submit.  

Accommodations

If a student requires an accommodation, a valid VISA from the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities must be presented to the COM Registrar Services office seven days in advance of the COMAT examination date. The student must also disclose which allowed accommodations s/he intends to use for the exam seven days in advance of the COMAT examination date.

Exam Day Protocol

Arrival and Check-In

  1. Check-in will begin 20 minutes prior to the exam start.
  2. A valid government-issued photo identification card, such as a driver’s license or passport, must be shown at check-in before the student will be permitted to take the examination. MSU ID cards are not acceptable. If a student cannot provide a valid form of identification, s/he will not be allowed to sit for the exam.
  3. Examinees must be seated five minutes prior to the exam start. Doors will close at this time. Students arriving after the doors are closed will not be permitted to sit for the exam.
  4. Once an examinee checks in they will not be allowed to leave the testing room until the exam begins. Examinees needing a bathroom break after the exam begins will not be given additional time to complete the examination. Only one examinee will be allowed out of the room at a time.   

Personal Belongings

  • All personal belongings will be stored at a location designated by the proctor, out of reach of the examinee.
  • All electronic devices must be shut off.
  • The college will provide students with a pencil, Launch Code Sheet, and disposable earplugs. Headphones (including Bluetooth) are not permitted.
  • Examinees may not wear hats.

Food and Beverage

No food or beverage is allowed in the testing room.
Exceptions to this rule will require documentation of need from the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities or a medical provider.

Technology Issues

  1. In the event that an individual experiences a technology failure, the examinee must raise his/her hand immediately to inform the proctor.
  2. The proctor will seek immediate recourse to allow the student to complete the entire exam in the time originally allotted.
  3. If there is no immediate recourse available, the examinee will be assigned an alternate time to take the exam.

Communication

  • All communication between examinees during the examination is strictly prohibited.
  • Proctors will not answer questions regarding examination content.

No Shows

  1. Please review the course syllabus regarding consequences for not showing to an examination for which you’ve registered. A no show may be counted as a failed first attempt.  
  2. If the course syllabus does not indicate a plan for not showing to a registered examination, a letter of unprofessionalism will be placed in your academic file and noted within your MSPE letter.  

Academic Integrity

All examinees must adhere to the policy listed above and any additional instructions provided by the exam administration staff the day of the exam. A failure to do so may be considered a violation of MSU and MSUCOM policies on academic integrity, and may result in disciplinary action; no score/zero score for the examination, being required to end the examination immediately, and/or dismissal from the College.

Exam Score Reporting

NBOME scores are available two to three weeks after the exam date.   Email notification is sent to the class when the scores have been entered on the student’s individual clerkship schedule.  

COMAT exam scores reported by the NBOME are reported as standard scores.

The respective departmental chairs and course faculty will evaluate individual student performance on the online COMAT examination relative to overall performance of the national cohort. Students scoring below the cut-score on a COMAT exam will be notified by the respective department.