{
  "abstract": "Background\n\nIntensive care unit (ICU) rotations bring together residents from multiple specialties. Comparisons of exit performance may be distorted when departments differ in postgraduate-year (PGY) composition and when non-equivalent examination forms are used across PGY levels.Methods\n\nWe conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of ICU exit examination records from 412 residents at a tertiary teaching hospital in China between November 2025 and April 2026. Three 100-item, 60-min examinations containing four question types were administered according to PGY. Departmental differences were evaluated using four complementary strategies: a same-examination subgroup of 227 PGY-2 residents, within-examination standardization, analysis of covariance adjusting for the combined PGY/form grouping, and hierarchical regression. Item characteristics, version-specific reliability, and exploratory differential item functioning were assessed retrospectively.Results\n\nIn the same-examination subgroup, the total-score effect size was η ² = 0.098 (p < 0.001), with surgery having the lowest mean score (75.9; SD 9.1; n = 77; 95% CI 73.9-78.0). Department explained an additional 7.6% of total-score variance after adjustment for PGY/form. The descriptive attenuation ratio was 21.3% for total scores, ranging from 7.3% for case-series items to 80.2% for basic-knowledge items. These ratios do not identify separate training-year or examination-version effects. The largest negative case-analysis gaps occurred in surgery and anesthesiology.Conclusion\n\nSpecialty-associated differences in examination performance were observed within this single-center educational setting and using this assessment instrument. The absence of baseline scores and incomplete evidence of cross-form comparability preclude causal or inherent-specialty interpretations; prospective baseline-controlled studies are needed before specialty-tailored interventions are adopted.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.",
    "The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China.",
    "Wenzhou Medical University Renji College, Wenzhou, China.",
    "The First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China."
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Yanche Lu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Ruijie Lin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Qian Yu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Qiuyu Zheng"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Lianmin Ye"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3d7cs96wz4we6.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3389/fmed.2026.1960270",
  "fulltext_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13683141",
  "id": "3d7cs96wz4we6",
  "issns": [
    "2296-858X"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908821",
  "language": "eng",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2739|Innovations in Medical Education"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220849845",
  "pdf_url": "https://europepmc.org/articles/PMC13683141?pdf=render",
  "pmcid": "PMC13683141",
  "pmid": "42908821",
  "published": "2026-10-07",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3d7cs96wz4we6.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:14Z",
      "native_id": "MED:42908821",
      "source": "europepmc",
      "url": "https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908821"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2739|Innovations in Medical Education",
      "subfield": "epidemiology-public-health"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Specialty-associated differences in intensive care unit rotation exit examination performance: a single-center retrospective cross-sectional study.",
  "title_text": "Specialty-associated differences in intensive care unit rotation exit examination performance: a single-center retrospective cross-sectional study.",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:14Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/3d7cs96wz4we6",
  "venue": "Frontiers in medicine",
  "versions": []
}