A Clinical-Skills Examination for Medical Students?

Abstract

To the Editor: It has been almost 40 years since a medical student was tested on his or her bedside manner before being licensed to practice medicine. In 1964, this portion of licensure testing was discontinued because of questions of fairness and validity. Thirty-one years later, in 1995, the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) adopted a new policy calling for the inclusion of such an examination, stating that implementation should occur when the examination “was shown to be valid, reliable, and practical.”1 Believing that the first two criteria have been met, the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) has . . .