During the exam, each clinical case will be introduced by an examiner who will also display the case information on their shared Zoom screen. Upon presentation of the case, candidates are expected to describe their approach to managing the patient’s care in each scenario. Examiners may interrupt the candidate’s explanation or ask additional questions, as described in more detail below. Please see the Candidate Performance Criteria for a description of the recommended discussion format.
Questioning by Examiners
Examiners are responsible for presenting candidates with seven cases in each encounter. To better manage the time and their role as evaluators, examiners may interrupt candidates to ask specific types of questions. An examiner’s questions may or may not be a reflection on how the candidate is performing on a case. For example:
- In each case discussion, candidates are expected to demonstrate an understanding of how certain information is used or why a specific test may be valuable. For these reasons, examiners may ask questions such as, “Why is this information useful for making a diagnosis or formulating a management plan?” or “How would you perform this surgery?”
- If a candidate veers off track or seems unfocused, the examiner may ask questions to redirect. For example, if a candidate makes a correct diagnosis but then suggests an incorrect or inadequate therapy, the examiner might ask: “What if that therapy didn’t help? What other treatment might you consider?” The examiner may ask similar questions to confirm or explore a candidate’s knowledge, even when the candidate is performing well.
- For the sake of time management, the examiner may interject and move on to the next case. To the candidate, this may seem abrupt and sound like “Thank you, let’s move on.”
A Professional, Personalized Conversation
Examiners complete extensive training on how to administer a fair, objective assessment in a live setting. They are trained to be considerate and respectful whenever they need to interrupt a candidate. However, examiners are not permitted to encourage, teach, or acknowledge right and wrong answers. Some examiners will not smile or nod their heads while candidates are speaking, and while this might come across as unfriendly, please know that all examiners have the best interests of the candidates in mind.
Examiners are also trained to adapt their examination style to what they observe about each candidate’s delivery. To a candidate, this may mean having different interactions and experiences with each examiner. Candidates should be prepared for different styles, pacing, and personalities while knowing that the examination questions and rules for scoring remain standardized.
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