usmleThe National Board of Medical Examiners® (NBME®) has developed new assessment formats for possible future use in the USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) examination. A field trial to test these new formats and measurement instruments is scheduled for August 13 and August 14, 2013, at the NBME headquarters in Philadelphia, PA.
Participants in the trial will have an opportunity to practice a clinical skills examination administered under standard USMLE conditions. There is no charge for the examination, but participants will be responsible for all travel and lodging costs.

The NBME is seeking approximately 50 eligible participants. Each participant who completes all sections of the field trial will receive a $150.00 honorarium.

WHO SHOULD APPLY
• Applicants who have taken and passed USMLE Step 1.
• Senior/4th year/6th year students or graduates of medical schools in the U.S. and Canada accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).
• Senior/4th year/6th year students or graduates of medical schools outside the U.S. and Canada (International Medical Graduates) and who have applied to the ECFMG for certification.
Note: If you participated in the Step 2CS pilots held in January, April, September or October 2012, you are NOT eligible to participate in this pilot.

FIELD TRIAL DESCRIPTION
The field trial will consist of 12 patient encounters and will take approximately 7 hours to complete. In each encounter, you will spend fifteen minutes with a standardized patient, followed by a 10-minute post-encounter exercise. Two break periods will be provided during the test day, a 30-minute meal break during which a light meal will be served, and an additional 15-minute break. No performance feedback will be provided to participants.

WHEN TO APPLY
Applications to participate in the trial will be accepted starting July 10, 2013 through 10:00 pm EST on August 2, 2013. NBME will use stratified random sampling to select participants from the pool of applicants received. Only one application form per person will be considered.

HOW PARTICIPANTS WILL BE NOTIFIED IF THEY ARE CHOSEN
All applicants will be notified via email whether or not they have been chosen to participate in the trial. If selected to participate, you will be given additional details concerning your session date and time. Please note that notifications will be sent to the e-mail address you entered during the online application process; check your email address for accuracy prior to submitting the application.

Due to the short duration of the field trial, rescheduling may not be possible if a participant’s plans change. A participant who fails to appear for a scheduled appointment cannot request another appointment. If technical difficulties occur that prevent the start or completion of the test day, it may not be possible to reschedule.

HOW TO APPLY
By applying to participate in this field trial, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by the terms of participation in the trial as set out in this announcement. Those who do not wish to be bound by these provisions should not apply. The USMLE Policies and Procedures Regarding Irregular Behavior apply to field trials conducted by or on behalf of the USMLE program. Please review these rules in the current Bulletin of Information, available at www.usmle.org.

Click here to apply for the field trial.