Canadian Medical Students Demand Change After ‘Inhumane’ Exam Conditions
September 18, 2020
Original Article: https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/mccqe-canadian-med-school-exam_ca_5ef61235c5b6acab2840f001
She was one of 33 students out of 67 writing with remote proctoring through Prometric’s ProProctor service who were disconnected that day, according to the Medical Council of Canada (MCC).
Tom Warren, vice-president of Prometric’s product line marketing, said the company is aware there was a technical systems issue that affected a number of candidates on June 12. The issue has since been resolved, he said in a statement to HuffPost.
“As with any new technology solution, we continue to evolve and work to yield a positive user experience for test takers,” Warren said. “We are committed to responding quickly and with urgency when unforeseen issues arise.”
Graduating medical school students are required to take part one of the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Exam (MCCQE) at some point during their first year of residency. Although passing the exam is technically not a requirement to start residency, most students choose to get the test out of the way before their residency starts so they’re not busy with both on-call shifts and studying. The exam costs about $1,300, and most students register and pay in the previous fall.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, students had the option to take online exams, which are offered in Canada through Prometric. Some students have opted to wait to take the exam in person at a future date. But nine students who took the exam online reached out to HuffPost to share stories of spending days on their laptop booking the exam, being disconnected frequently and having to retake the exam.