What Do You Do When the Unexpected Happens? Perspectives From the Licensing of Physicians

• In Event: Practical Issues in Testing and Assessment

Abstract

As with other professions, the medical profession administers thousands of examinations each year that carry very real consequences for the examinees’ career trajectories and the general public’s safety. Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (Step 2 CK) of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) are multiple choice (MCQ) examinations that are administered via computer on a continuous basis to approximately 30,000-40,000 examinees a year in hundreds of test centers in the United States and in over 50 countries around the world; Step 3 contains both MCQs and computer case simulations (CCS) and is administered on a continuous basis to approximately 30,000 examinees a year in hundreds of test centers in the United States. Step 2 Clinical S kills (Step 2 CS) uses standardized patients who are actors trained to portray real patients; it is administered on a continuous basis to approximately 30,000 examinees a year in five Clinical Skills Evaluation Centers in the United States.

Given the large number of annual administrations and the variety of assessment formats used in the various examinations that comprise USMLE, unexpected things sometimes happen before, during, and after test administration that may impact examinees. This presentation will discuss some real examples of issues that have arisen and will describe the solutions that were implemented to try to minimize the impact of the issues on examinees while also being cognizant of the role our examinations play in the protection of the public as consumers of health care in the United States.

Author

• Carol A. Morrison, National Board of Medical Examiners