To the Editor:  

In the June edition of JAOA—The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association, a team of researchers (myself included, D.J.S.)¹ presented recent findings regarding the relationships among the four Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) mental-function pairs² and performance on Level 1 of the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination-USA (COMLEX-USA) by 263 osteopathic medical students at Midwestern University/Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in Downers Grove, Illinois. 

Based on subsequent inquiries and comments received from colleagues and students, we decided to investigate the relationship between the MBTI mental-function pairs and student performance on Level 2-CE of COMLEX-USA. 

The primary question we sought to answer in this new investigation was the following: Is the performance of students with each of the four mental-function pairs the same or different in Level 2-CE vs Level 1 of COMLEX-USA? 

Subsequent to review and approval of the new study by Midwestern University's institutional review board, we began to analyze data from the original 295 osteopathic medical students—including 32 students who were excluded from the first study¹ because they did not meet criteria specified for participation. This group consisted of 132 students from the class of 2008 and 163 students from the class of 2009.¹ Because 12 of these students had transferred to another college of osteopathic medicine or had extended their course of study, the final cohort for the new analysis consisted of 283 students, including 130 in the class of 2008 and 153 in the class of 2009. 

Analysis revealed that the rank order of students' MBTI function-pairs with regard to mean test scores was the same for both portions of COMLEX-USA (Table). 

Our results demonstrate that the performance of osteopathic medical students on Levels 1 and 2-CE in COMLEX-USA, based on MBTI mental-function pairs, is similar. This finding should encourage faculty at osteopathic medical schools to further evaluate the use of the MBTI during student assessment and training. We believe that information gained from the MBTI can be used to enhance student learning and improve academic performance in osteopathic medical school. 

In our opinion, the next two questions that need to be answered by researchers are as follows: 

These—and other—questions offer excellent opportunities for further research efforts.