J Educ Eval Health Prof.  2010;7:4.

Introduction and Administration of the Clinical Skill Test of the Medical Licensing Examination, Republic of Korea (2009)

• Kim KS

Abstract

The first trial of the clinical skill test as part of the Korean Medical Licensing Examination was done from September 23 to December 1, 2009, in the clinical skill test center located in the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board (NHPLEB) building, Seoul. Korea is the first country to introduce the clinical skill test as part of the medical licensing examination in Asia. It is a report on the introduction and administration of the test. The NHPLEB launched researches on the validity of introducing the clinical skill test and on the best implementation methods in 2000. Since 2006, lists of subjects of test items for the clinical skill test has been developed. The test consisted of two types of evaluation, i.e., a clinical performance examination (CPX) with a standardized patient (SP) and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The proctor (medical faculty member) and SP rate the examinees' proficiency for the OSCE and CPX respectively. Out of 3,456 applicants, 3,289 examinees (95.2%) passed the test. Out of 167 examinees who failed the clinical skill test, 142 passed the written test. This means that the clinical skill test showed characteristics independent from the written test. This successful implementation of the clinical skill test is going to improve the medical graduates' performance of clinical skills.

Keyword

Medical Licensing Examination; Clinical Performance Examination; Standardized Patient; Objective Structured Clinical Examination

MeSH Terms

Asia
Clinical Competence
Health Personnel
Humans
Korea
Licensure
Republic of Korea

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Examinee receives number card to be attached to lab coat after signing. Staff member confirms if the examinee’s personal identification is correct before start of clinical skill test.

• 

  Fig. 2. Scene of student’s performance for the clinical performance examination with standardized patient viewed outside of oneway mirror room.

• 

  Fig. 3. Examinees are answering the inter-station test during the inter-station interval.

• 

  Fig. 4. Monitoring room located in the clinical skill test center where every room is monitored for emergencies.

Reference

1. Kim S, Park S, Hur Y, Lee SJ. The appropriateness of using standardized patients’ (SPs) assessment scores in clinical performance examination (CPX). Korean J Med Educ. 2005; 17:163–72.

2. Yim MK, Lee GM. The school effect on the reliability of clinical performance examination in medical schools. Korean J Med Educ. 2010; 22:215–23.

3. Furman GE. The role of standardized patient and trainer training in quality assurance for a high-stakes clinical skills examination. Kaohsiung J Med Sci. 2008; 24:651–5.

4. Kim JH, Yoo HS, Lee JS, Lee EG, Park HK, Sung YH, et al. The spread of pandemic H1N1 2009 by age and region and the comparison among monitoring tools. J Korean Med Sci. 2010; 25:1109–12.