Medicine, Board of

Medicine, Board of

Chapter 2: Examination for Licensure

Effective Date: 11/19/2010 to 03/18/2011

Rule Type: Expired Emergency Rules & Regulations

Reference Number: 052.0001.2.11192010

“FOR THE 120 DAYS THE EMERGENCY RULES ARE IN EFFECT, THE FOLLOWING RULES SHALL APPLY.”

THESE RULES ARE TO BE EFFECTIVE FOR PHYSICIAN LICENSURE APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AFTER DECEMBER 31, 2010.

CHAPTER 2

EXAMINATION FOR LICENSURE

Section 1. Definitions.

(a) “AOA” means the American Osteopathic Association. (b) “ACGME” means the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education. (c) “Board” means the Wyoming Board of Medicine as defined in the Wyoming Medical Practice Act, W.S. 33-26-101 et. seq. (d) “Fifth pathway” means an academic year of supervised clinical education provided by an LCME or AOA accredited medical school to students who (i) have completed, in an accredited college or university in the U.S., undergraduate premedical education of the quality acceptable for matriculation in an LCME or AOA accredited U.S. medical school; (ii) have studied at a foreign medical school not accredited by the LCME or AOA; (iii) have completed all requirements of the foreign medical school except internship and/or social service; (iv) have attained a score satisfactory to the sponsoring medical school on a screening examination and (v) have passed the Foreign Medical Graduate Examination in the Medical Sciences, Parts I & II of the examination of the National Board of Medical Examiners, or Steps 1 and 2 of the USMLE examination. Those who have completed the internship and/or social service requirement of their foreign medical school are not eligible for a fifth pathway program. (e) “FLEX” means the Federation Licensing Examination. (f) “FSMB” means the Federation of State Medical Boards. (g) “Indeterminate scores” means passing level examination scores that cannot be certified as representing a valid measure of an examinee’s competence in the domains assessed by the test. Indeterminate scores may result from irregular behavior, or they may be due to other factors such as examinee illness during part of an examination. Inconsistency of performance within the examination, between administrations with the same step examination, or other aberrations not reasonably and/or satisfactorily explained may result in passing scores being classified as indeterminate. If irregular behavior is determined to affect score validity, resultant passing scores are considered indeterminate. (h) “Irregular behavior” means all actions on the part of applicants and/or examinees that subvert or attempt to subvert the examination process. Specific examples of irregular behavior include seeking and/or obtaining access to examination materials prior to the examination, falsification of information on application or registration forms, impersonation of an examinee or engaging a proxy to take the examination, copying answers from another examinee, etc. Irregular behavior is generally identified and subsequently reported by proctors or other individuals involved in examination registration or administration or is reported by examinees or others who believe inappropriate behavior has occurred.

(i) 'LCME' means the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

(j) 'LMCC' means the Licentiate Medical Council of Canada.

(k) 'National Boards' means the examination administered by the National Board of Medical Examiners.

(l) 'NBOME' means the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners or the examination of graduates of the colleges of osteopathic medicine also known as the NBOME and/or the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX).

(m) 'USMLE' means the three-part examination for medical licensure in the United States. The examination replaces the FLEX and National Boards.

Section 2. Eligibility for examination. An examination applicant is eligible to sit for USMLE Step 3 provided the applicant:

(i) Has completed or will complete by June 30 of the calendar year in which the applicant sits for Step 3 at least one year of postgraduate training in an ACGME or AOA accredited residency program;

(ii) Provides verification to the board, or its duly appointed agent, of having successfully completed USMLE Steps 1 and 2; and

(iii) Completes the USMLE Step 3 application form including requisite fees.

Section 3. Composite testing.

(a) The following combinations of licensure examination are acceptable to the board for purposes of licensure eligibility only if completed before June 30, 2000:

(i) National Boards Part I or USMLE Step 1 and National Boards Part II or USMLE Step 2 and National Boards Part III or USMLE Step 3;

(ii) FLEX Component 1 and FLEX Component 2;

(iii) NBME parts 1, 2 and 3;

(iv) FLEX Component 1 and USMLE Step 3 or National Boards Part I or USMLE Step 1 and National Boards Part II or USMLE Step 2 and FLEX Component 2;

(v) Successful completion of a board approved state constructed examination administered before July 1, 1968.

(b) The board will not accept completion of any part of the examination administered by the LMCC as part of a combination requisite for USMLE Step 3 eligibility. The board will, however, accept successful completion of the LMCC examination as a component of licensure eligibility.

(c) As of July 1, 2000, the Board will not accept any of the combinations of licensure examinations described in Ch. 2, sec. 3(a)(i-iv) as prerequisites to eligibility for USMLE Step 3.

(d) As of July 1, 2000, the Board will accept only successful completion of USMLE Steps 1 and 2 as prerequisites for eligibility to sit for USMLE Step 3.

Section 4. Miscellaneous provisions.

(a) The board, or its duly appointed agent, will administer all aspects of USMLE Step 3 including, but not limited to, application and registration for the examination, selection of the site on which the exam will be administered, monitoring of the examination process and reporting of scores.

(b) 'USMLE Policies and Procedures for Handling Indeterminate Scores and Irregular Behavior' developed by the FSMB are adopted by the board and incorporated by reference herein.

(c) 'USMLE Test Administration Standards' developed by the FSMB are adopted by the board and incorporated by reference herein.

(d) 'Policies and Procedures Regarding USMLE Test Administration for Examinees with Disabilities' developed by the FSMB are adopted by the board and incorporated by reference herein.

(e) A passing score on any step or part of the USMLE, COMLEX, FLEX, National Boards, SPEX, or state constructed examination is a minimum of 75. Composite scores of less than 75 are not accepted.

(f) Scores will be available for reporting to the examinees from the board at such time as they are made available to the board from the FSMB. Scores shall be reported to the examinee in writing.

(g) Application and fees for USMLE Step 3 shall be obtained from and paid directly to the FSMB.

(h) Applications must be sent directly to the FSMB no later than the deadline dates established in the USMLE annual bulletin.