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Students demand end to costly role-playing licensing exam

A national licensing exam that tests medical students’ patient care skills to the tune of $1,300 is being called a bloated waste of time by medical students across the country, according to a March 28, 2016 report by STAT News.

More than 6,000 students and faculty of medical schools have signed a petition demanding that the National Board of Medical Examiners ban “Step 2 CS,” a role-playing exam that requires medical students to diagnose ailments being acted out by people pretending to be sick.

The licensing exams’ testing centers are located in five cities across the U.S. The exam costs over $1,200 to take, and students are required to pay for transportation.

The exam also a noticeably high pass-rate, and according to some, this fact demonstrates how unhelpful the test is. At least 96% of test-takers achieve passing scores the first time they take the exam.

 

Read more here.