NBOME licensing examination series for osteopathic (DO) physicians, integrating osteopathic principles with biomedical and clinical sciences. This practice bank covers foundational content across the exam's core domains.
Who it's for
Osteopathic medical students and graduates preparing for COMLEX-USA licensure examinations — the required licensing pathway for DO physicians in the United States, parallel to (but distinct from) the MD pathway's USMLE.
What's covered
- Osteopathic principles and practice — the content area unique to DO licensure
- Biomedical and clinical sciences
- Patient presentation and clinical reasoning
- Professional practice and ethics
What to expect
Expect heavy emphasis on clinical reasoning through patient presentations — COMLEX is built around organizing content by how patients actually present, not by textbook chapter — plus osteopathic manipulative treatment content that has no MD-exam equivalent.
How to prepare
NBOME's own official self-assessment product, COMSAE (Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Self-Assessment Examination), is the closest thing to an official practice exam and is widely used as a readiness benchmark; most DO students prepare over months as part of their formal curriculum, using COMSAE performance to gauge readiness for the real thing.
Certification details
- Certifying body: National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME).
- Eligibility: Enrollment in (or graduation from) an accredited osteopathic medical school, per the specific COMLEX-USA level.
- Exam format: COMLEX-USA is a multi-level exam series (Level 1, Level 2-CE, Level 2-PE, Level 3), each with its own format; Level 1/2-CE are computer-based multiple-choice exams administered over multiple sessions.
- Content outline: Integrates the seven organ systems and osteopathic principles across dimensions of clinical presentation, physician tasks, and patient population.
- Note: This practice bank is a simplified overview and does not replicate the full scope, length, or format of the actual multi-day COMLEX-USA examinations.
