United States Medical Licensing Examination (“USMLE”) – Testing Issues & Irregular Behavior of Medical Students
- “How Best to Respond if the USMLE Program Questions Your Passing Level Scores: Points to Consider“, by Bob Bennett
“The following points may help you decide how to respond to the USMLE Program’s concerns about the validity of the passing level scores if you were involved with Optima University prior to your testing. You may have received a letter from the Secretariat of the United States Medical Licensing Examination which is a joint program of the Federation of State Medical Boards of the U. S., Inc. and the National Board of Medical Examiners. The letter may state that you have the right to have counsel accompany you to the hearing held by the Committee on Score Validity. This may be helpful but counsel should be consulted as soon as you are contacted by USMLE. The following demonstrates how helpful early attorney involvement may be. There are several reasons that based on our recent experience with the Committee that you should consider having an attorney help prepare your presentation and be present with you before the Committee.” Click the Article’s Title to continue reading [PDF].
- When the Gatekeeper Challenges Your Test Scores: The High Stakes & Hefty Burden Examinees Face in Defending Their Scores on the U.S. Medical License Examination, by Sherri Katz and Bob Bennett
“Recent developments have increased scrutiny of examinees’ scores on the USMLE placing many examinees who acted in good faith and with complete propriety in jeopardy of having their scores labeled “indeterminate”2 , which is basically the same thing as invalidated or revoked. The USMLE also has the power to have an examinee’s score reports reflect “irregular behavior”3 , which could mean being barred from future testing, and forcing USMLE examinees to suffer collateral consequences such as delay in licensing, graduation, or participating in a residency program. In addition, recent development now includes a high-stakes copyright infringement lawsuit4 for damages and an injunction, filed by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) against Optima University, a popular test preparation course provider, its founder, Eihab Mohamed Suliman, and ten John Doe defendants. This lawsuit was filed on February 23, 2009.” Click the Article’s Title to continue reading [PDF].