When the National Board of Medical Examiners and the Federation of State Medical Boards changed the process for grading a section of the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam, they hoped it would decrease student stress and reduce the emphasis on scores in the decision process for residency placement.

But a year and a half after the transition, some medical school students and faculty are unsure if the change was effective and are concerned that it may have amplified inequities among students.

The reform, which went into effect in January 2022, shifted the first of three exams required for a medical license from a traditional numerical scoring to a pass-fail model.

The exam, USMLE Step 1, is a grueling eight-hour assessment of students’ knowledge of basic medical sciences, including anatomy, biochemistry, immunology and pharmacology. It is typically taken at the end of the second year of medical school. The high-stakes exam was known for inducing high levels of stress in students because it was used as a primary evaluation metric for medical residency placements.

The NBME and the FSMB, co-sponsors of the exam, said the switch to pass-fail aimed to “address concerns about Step 1 scores impacting student well-being,” “reduce the overemphasis” on exam results and promote a more holistic residency selection process.

However, many students and medical school faculty now say that removing scores has simply shifted stress to the second exam and put additional pressure on students to differentiate themselves through research and extracurricular opportunities, which will take time away from their studies and amplify pre-existing inequalities in medical education.

“I think most people agree with the concept and think that it’s a step in the right direction, which I also agree with,” said Natasha Topolski, a sixth-year student pursuing an M.D. and Ph.D. at McGovern Medical School in Houston. “But still being stressed in that period is a very real thing … Step 1 isn’t the root of the problem. It’s a symptom.”

Student Stress Remains

Topolski, who is also chair of the American Medical Association’s Medical Student Section, said her stress levels were still high when she took the exam last year under the pass-fail model.

“If you fail, residency programs know. You’re allowed to retake it, but they know and that’s this black mark,” Topolski said, noting that numerical scores provided students a chance to show improvement on the second exam. “They just see that I failed and then I passed eventually … I think that’s where a lot of the anxiety still comes from.”

Topolski said she’s heard many peers say the stress “just gets pushed to Step 2,” which is still scored and is now expected to be used as an evaluation metric for residency placements.

Abbigayle Willgruber-Rawls, a fourth-year medical student at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine–Bowling Green, intends to apply for an ear, nose and throat residency this fall. But she pushed her Step 2 test date back from June to August to have more time to study because she’s panic her score won’t be high enough to get accepted into the highly competitive specialty.

“It really puts a lot of pressure on different aspects of medical education that maybe we wouldn’t have stressed so much about initially if we had that numeric Step 1 score,” she said.

A study published in Medical Science Educator in February indicated many students are still feeling stressed despite the change to pass-fail.

The study was conducted by medical residents at the Georgetown University School of Medicine and compared the stress levels of students there who took the first portion of the exam both before and after the transition to pass-fail. Results showed that although exam-specific stress rates for pass-fail students were significantly lower than their scored peers during the first two years of medical school, the difference “disappeared” when students reached the “dedicated study period” in the months immediately before the exam.

Faculty Expresses New Concerns

Medical school faculty members and administrators are also concerned. In a exact survey of about 250 medical school officials conducted by TrueLearn, a third-party USMLE test-preparation company, only about 39 percent said they believed the switch would lessen test takers’ stress levels. However, about 56 percent of respondents expressed concerns that students would spend less time preparing for the exam as a result of the shift to a pass-fail model.

Dr. Rance McClain, who was dean at the Arkansas Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine until June, agreed that the change to pass-fail shifted students’ stress to the second part of the exam. Unlike Step 1, for which students are typically granted several months of “unhindered” time to study, he noted that Step 2 is often taken during students’ fourth-year clinical rotations.

“Now they put a lot more pressure on themselves for Step 2, when they don’t have that time and ability to study the way they now think they should,” he said. “We’re very concerned about our students taking away valuable clinical learning experiences trying to go back and study.”

Medical school officials are also concerned that as students look for new ways to differentiate themselves from peers in residency applications, more emphasis will be placed on factors such as research experience and extracurricular involvement. They worry this will amplify pre-existing inequities in the residency placement process, making it harder for students who are not attending elite institutions to be accepted into their top-choice programs.

“Students from these disadvantaged backgrounds, who may not have access to others who are physicians or scientists, they may not have those opportunities to volunteer and shadow or have research opportunities to really help embellish their résumés as they’re applying for these residency programs,” said Dr. Yolanda Lawson, president of the National Medical Association, an organization that represents African American physicians.

Dr. Jonathan Waters, a professor of anesthesiology and biomedical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has been “heavily involved” in selecting residents and fellows in the past. He believes research is more about who you know than what you know and that it isn’t the same caliber “screening tool” as a USMLE score.

“Various professors have different expectations for medical students and the roles that they play in research … you can be a nice guy and have a professor take good care of you,” Dr. Waters said. “I don’t see it as making up for the rigor of having to study for an exam with the pressure that goes along with it.”

Mark Speicher, a senior vice president at the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, voiced similar concerns. He said research and extracurricular opportunities can be harder to access at rural, regional institutions and osteopathic medical schools, which are sometimes viewed as less rigorous. Students of color and first-generation students may also face barriers.

“There is some basis to think that the USMLE was not equitable across all demographic groups, but at least it was a known target,” Speicher said. “If I’m a first-generation college student, I knew how to prepare for the USMLE. But how am I supposed to get a research opportunity that ends with a publication?”

Associations Wait to Judge

The USMLE, and the boards that oversee it, acknowledged some of the concerns in a statement more than a year before the change went into effect, but they moved forward with it anyway.

Joe Knickrehm, a USMLE spokesperson, said in an email that the decision was made “after nearly two years of careful evaluation” and it “is only one action that can help Excellerate this process.”

He implied that it was up to medical schools to address student stress.

“We encourage other organizations in undergraduate and graduate medical education to identify solutions to optimize the transition from medical school to residency,” he wrote.

The American Association of Medical Colleges declined to comment on the impact of the change. Other medical associations, including the National Resident Matching Program and the American Medical Association, acknowledged concerns but said it was too early to fully assess the scenario.

The American Medical Association described the numerical score as “detrimental” and said it “created a parallel curriculum to prepare for the exam,” which “distracted medical students from developing teamwork and communication skills.” The association also noted that the first cohort in which a majority of students took the exam under the pass-fail model will be applying for residencies this fall, after which the full impact of the exam on students’ acceptance to residency programs could be better gauged.

“There is concern voiced by the community about how these changes the determination of who programs want to invite for interviews and select for residency programs” Donna Lamb, president and CEO of the National Resident Matching Program, said in an email. However, “Anecdotal input is somewhat limiting, and so I consider it cautiously.”

“This is a new process that the National Board of Medical Examiners and others are working to better understand,” she said.

Bar exams moved online during the pandemic, fueling attention to issues under discussion, such as widely varying bar pass rates from state to state, and large costs to graduates of prep courses needed even after three years of law school.

Law school administrators and members of the profession wrung their hands: Are we really turning out so many graduates incompetent to practice law?

Some modest reforms are under way. There’s a next generation bar exam on the horizon that diverges a bit from the old style. But a lot of state bars are still just thinking about it, and bar exam modifications continue to be (rightfully) criticized.

And in the midst of this debate, along came ChatGPT—never a law student—and passed the bar exam. Academia is in turmoil over the significant potential for AI-assisted papers and exams.

Out of the chaos sown by these developments, might we possibly reap a whole new perspective on how to train lawyers? It is, after all, overdue to reform legal education, which has changed only marginally for many decades.

Of course law students still need to learn legal doctrine, and how to find and understand case law, statutes, and regulations. And clinical legal education, which is now often a graduation requirement, has been a valuable addition to legal education.

But should law school consume three mostly-classroom years and then be followed by a bar exam that requires lots of memorization and lightning-fast essay and multiple-choice responses that don’t reveal the kind of in-depth thinking attorneys are called on to do? Especially considering the great expense in time and money for law school and then bar prep?

What should we be teaching and then, if not testing, evaluating? A long and well-researched report from 2020, “Building a Better Bar: The Twelve Building Blocks of Minimum Competence,” suggests a helpful framework to answer that question.

Most critically it focuses much attention on what we in the legal academy have mostly failed to teach: the actual practice of law. It’s about time we do so.

Consider medical education. It begins with two years immersed in the textual, classroom, and lab study of subjects necessary to the practice of medicine. Then students progress to two years learning the clinical—the actual—practice of medicine, even before years of post-graduate residency training. And some medical schools are even introducing clinical practice into those first two years.

What would “medical model” legal education look like?

Lawyers for America, invented at UC Hastings (now UC Law San Francisco), is a model that provides students with a different route to learning to be a lawyer while simultaneously helping to Excellerate our country’s massive access to justice problem.

Ponder: Two years of classroom learning and a third year devoted entirely to a well-supervised externship with a legal nonprofit or government legal office. Given the current bar exam, summer is then devoted to study and the test, and then after the bar exam the fellows return for a full year of fellowship-paid work.

The participating organizations pay LFA enough to support the fellowship stipends—less than their cost of hiring a new lawyer, enabling the stretching of their always tight budgets. Bonus: They’ve already trained their new fellow for all of their 3L year. Supervisors are very committed to their training because fellows will soon be their colleagues for a year.

Our fellows so far have engaged in great public service through the program and have moved very successfully to careers. Many of the fellows have stayed in public interest or public service careers, some clearly achieving positions that just on the basis of grades and pedigree could have been difficult to obtain. Their excellent experience—and thus meaningful recommendations—has propelled them forward.

Can we do more to make law school-affiliated hands-on experiences not only necessary but sufficient for licensure as a lawyer? Or at least sufficient along with passage of a much-simplified written exam, perhaps focusing on a limited number of subjects chosen by each examinee from a larger selection, and with dramatically reduced emphasis on speed and memorization?

Alas, change comes hard both to legal educators and to bar examiners. We started LFA after a dean told us we should ask for forgiveness rather than permission, or the idea might never have moved forward. Other law schools have considered joining us and hit various barriers.

For their part, bar examiners have put together committees to recommend change, but things move slowly—if at all. A California Blue Ribbon Commission spent about two years and still couldn’t reach consensus on a non-bar-exam route to licensure. A subgroup of that commission has just prepared a lengthy draft urging a “portfolio bar examination” in hopes of obtaining full commission approval.

For a good starting point to consider change, law school administrators should look to the medical school model and take to heart the feedback in the “Building a Better Bar” report about the value of experiential learning in the careers of many law graduates.

We need to train lawyers for the needs of today, under the conditions of today’s world. Yesterday’s ways shouldn’t be forever.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law and Bloomberg Tax, or its owners.

Marsha Cohen is a professor at UC Law SF. She taught podium classes and for many years supervised an extensive Judicial Externship Program which fueled her interest in “medical-model” legal education, on which Lawyers for America was built.

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Buying life insurance is important to protect loved ones. But consumers purchasing a policy may need to undergo a life insurance medical exam. Here's what's involved in a life insurance exam, as well as some insight into why this is a common requirement.

What is a life insurance medical exam?

A life insurance medical exam is a physical that is typically requested by a life insurance company. It's part of the process of buying life insurance in most situations. The purpose is to provide insurance companies with the information they need to set premiums. Life insurers usually pay for it, and there is both a verbal questionnaire and a physical exam.

Medical questionnaire

How do life insurance companies check an applicant's medical background? Generally, by asking questions as part of the life insurance application process. During the life insurance exam, consumers will be asked about their past health status. They'll be asked questions about their lifestyle and social habits, as well as their general health.

Physical exam

A life insurance physical is part of a life insurance application process. During the life insurance physical exam, the medical professional performing the process will check weight, collect a blood and urine sample, and check blood pressure.

Why do life insurance companies require an exam?

Life insurers require an exam because insurance companies want to assess the likelihood of paying out claims. To do this, the insurance company wants to know as much as possible about an applicant's physical health.

The insurer wants to see if the potential policyholder has medical conditions that could make their death during the term of coverage more likely. The insurance company also wants to make sure an applicant isn't hiding any possible health issues.

Is an exam required for life insurance?

A life insurance medical exam is required by most life insurance providers -- but not all. A small number of life insurers offer term life insurance with a reasonable amount of coverage without requiring a medical exam. They've harnessed new technologies and algorithms to determine who to cover.

There are also some guaranteed issue life insurance policies that provide coverage without mandating a life insurance medical exam. However, coverage limits are often low with these policies. There may also be restrictions such as a lengthy waiting period before the full death benefit is paid.

What do life insurance companies test for in the medical exam?

When a potential policyholder undergoes a life insurance health exam, the purpose is to identify red flags that could make insuring a policyholder too risky. While there may be slight variations in what different insurers test for when a consumer undergoes a life insurance exam, here are some common things insurers look for.

High blood pressure

High blood pressure is a common life insurance test, as high blood pressure can increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, or other cardiac issues.

Blood sugar

As part of a life insurance blood test, insurers may look for elevated blood sugar that could be indicative of diabetes. Diabetes also comes with health risks that could result in a higher risk of an insurer paying out a death benefit.

Nicotine use

Smoking increases the risk of many medical problems, including various types of cancer. As a result, a life insurance medical exam will involve an assessment of current and past nicotine use. Many carriers offer life insurance for smokers, though premiums are significantly higher.

High cholesterol

There's a higher risk of a stroke or heart disease when a person has high cholesterol. A life insurance exam will test cholesterol levels.

Recreational drugs

The use of recreational drugs is a major risk factor that life insurers consider. An exam will look for evidence of recreational drug use. However, some insurers are willing to accept marijuana users, especially as more states have relaxed the laws on cannabis.

Serious diseases

Finally, life insurers use blood tests to look for serious diseases. This can include conditions such as HIV or AIDS, as well as hepatitis. While some insurers provide coverage for people with HIV, others don't -- and a serious illness could make it impossible or expensive to get life insurance.

How to prepare for the medical exam

It's important to follow the life insurance company's instructions when preparing for a life insurance medical exam. These may include fasting prior to the exam to avoid skewing blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Drinking water prior to the exam can help flush toxins from the body and dilate veins, making it easier for the technician to draw blood for the blood test. It's also a good idea to avoid strenuous exercise immediately before the exam to avoid elevated blood pressure.

Also, consumers should review their medical history to ensure they can provide accurate, honest answers when asked about their health status. Failing to provide accurate information could result in an insurance company denying an application, canceling the policy, or refusing to pay death benefits.

What happens during the life insurance physical?

During the life insurance physical, a medical professional is typically dispatched to the applicant's home or office. The process will take around 45 minutes or less and will include a nurse or medical technician asking questions, as well as a physical examination. The life insurance exam usually includes:

• A height and weight check
• A blood pressure check
• The collection of blood and urine samples

Other ways life insurance companies get information about you

In addition to a life insurance medical exam, insurers may also employ other techniques to find out information about a potential policyholder's health status. This could include checking your records with the MIB (formerly the Medical Information Bureau), which includes information from past life insurance and health insurance applications. Other potential sources of information include your prescription drug history, driving records, and a criminal background check.

Do life insurance companies call your doctor?

Life insurers generally do not directly ask questions of a person's doctor. Instead, the insurer will ask an applicant for medical information and will arrange for a life insurance medical exam to be conducted by a medical professional of its choosing.

In many cases though, with the permission of the policyholder, an insurer may request medical records from an applicant's doctor's office. It may request an attending physician statement (APS), which is a statement from your provider that gives context about any pre-existing conditions or your general health. However, doctors cannot just disclose patient information to a life insurer without the patient's permission, as doing so would violate federal laws protecting privacy.

Do life insurance companies check medical records?

Life insurance companies may request medical records during the underwriting process. They do this to determine if a policyholder was honest in their answers to medical questions and to look for red flags that could suggest an increased risk of providing coverage. They must obtain permission from the applicant first.

Do life insurers check your credit?

Life insurers may run a credit check. This is more common with life insurance companies that use algorithms and publicly available information to approve people for policies without a life insurance medical exam.

What happens after the exam?

In most cases, insurers will already be aware of any medical issues based on the information provided by the applicant. However, sometimes abnormalities will be uncovered and an insurer may request additional medical assessments. For example, if a life insurance exam shows high blood pressure, the insurer may request a follow-up test to see if it has remained elevated.

Applicants can request a copy of their results after the exam. The information will be sent to the insurer's underwriting department, which will review the results of the life insurance medical exam. Based on this information, the insurer will set premiums. Applicants will then be notified of whether they are approved for coverage and what their premiums will be.

What if I'm not happy with the results?

If an applicant isn't happy with the results of a life insurance exam, there are a few options:

• Buy coverage anyway, even if the premiums are higher, and request reconsideration after some time passes. This has the benefit of allowing the applicant to get immediate protection.
• Shop for life insurance from another company. This may result in the same issues arising. But some insurers are more forgiving than others of various medical conditions.
• Request a follow-up exam. Often, an applicant will have to pay for this if the insurer is satisfied that the results of the initial testing were accurate.
• Work with a life insurance agent. Insurance professionals often know which carriers are likely to offer coverage to those with pre-existing conditions.

What if I'm denied coverage?

If an applicant is denied coverage after a medical exam, they can:

• Attempt to correct the issues resulting in the denial, such as by quitting smoking or getting high blood pressure under control with medication.
• Shop with other insurers that may have less stringent qualifying requirements for similar coverage.
• Obtain a guaranteed issue life insurance policy that doesn't require a medical exam.

How to get a life insurance medical exam

To get a life insurance medical exam, apply for insurance coverage. The insurer will arrange for the exam to occur at its own cost. The medical exam will take place at the applicant's home or workplace.

Options for life insurance without a medical exam

There are several options for no medical exam life insurance, some of which are better than others. Note that even if you have an underlying health condition, undergoing a medical exam could still help you obtain more coverage at a lower cost.

Simplified issue life insurance

With simplified issue life insurance, you can typically avoid a medical exam. Instead, life insurance companies base decisions on third-party records and your answers to a health questionnaire. Sometimes this is a good option for people who need coverage to begin right away and can’t wait for a life insurance medical exam and full underwriting.

Guaranteed issue life insurance

Guaranteed issue life insurance is life insurance that is available to everyone regardless of medical status. Many insurers offer these policies, although they often have relatively low coverage limits. Many guaranteed issue policies have waiting periods, such as a two-year delay until the full death benefit pays out.

Group life insurance

Group life insurance may be available as a workplace benefit. It's often possible to obtain a set amount of coverage through an employer's group life insurance plan without a life insurance medical exam.

Final expense insurance

Final expense insurance is a small life insurance policy designed to cover funeral costs. Most final expense insurance policies are guaranteed issue policies. That means no life insurance medical exam is required. However, these policies provide limited protection. They only help families cover a small amount of costs after a death.

RELATED: See The Ascent's guide to the best life insurance with no exam.

Medical NExT Examination Expected To Start In August 2025: Report | Representative image

The foundation year 1 (FY1) doctors of today are highly accomplished, yet over one in three FY1s feel underprepared when starting their new jobs, according to a survey by the General Medical Council (GMC).1 I likely represent a large proportion of exact graduates in that, despite passing my final exams and having audits, conference presentations, and teaching experience under my belt, I can count on one hand the number of arterial blood gases, catheters, or nasogastric tubes I ever attempted in medical school.

The focus of contemporary medical training on being successful “on paper” means that the activities that contribute the most to exam success or building a portfolio for a specific specialty (i.e. “high yield” activities) dominate students’ schedules at the expense of valuable placement time. Simply put, there is too much to do and too little time. This may mean students skip a clinic session to watch lecture recordings at 1.5x speed or leave placement early to go through exam question banks at home. Students may also choose to do the bare minimum required to sign off all 23 of the GMC’s Outcomes for Graduates list of required clinical skills and practical procedures—all so that they can free up more time to tick another box. After all, these requirements do not differentiate between the student who performs a successful cannulation once and the student who spends additional time on the ward to master the technique.

The high stakes of medicine’s testing system is partially to blame for this. There is little emphasis on assessments for learning, an approach that evaluates students’ understanding of study material in an ongoing and informal way. Instead, a lot of importance is placed on assessments of learning, which comprise formal exams that evaluate students’ performance and rank them in relation to their peers. Students who fail their exams usually have one chance to resit before they have to repeat a year or, worse, are asked to leave medical school. For many of these students, it can feel like the current training system lacks the very compassion it seeks to cultivate in its trainees.2

CAVITE, Philippines – Sam Jeffrey Tiongco, 22, dreamed of becoming a medical technologist and a doctor, but the journey towards this dream has been a challenge. 

He was having a typical day at Saint Louis University (SLU) when his friend showed him the August 2023 Medical Technologists Licensure Examination results. 

“That time akala ko inedit niya, kasi ‘yun ‘yung trip ng mga kaibigan ko (At that time I thought it was edited by my friend to prank me),” he said.

“So when he showed me that it was actually the PRC (Professional Regulation Commission) board, I was really shocked, I dropped my pen and then I cried [out] of joy, ” Tiongco added in a mix of English and Filipino. 

Tiongco scored 93.30%, placing first among 3,982 passers out of 5,401 examinees. His alma mater Saint Louis University also ranked first among schools with students taking the exam nationwide.

While everyone saw Tiongco fulfill one of his dreams, only few knew how physically and emotionally draining his preparation was towards this result.

“I pressured myself into delivering the best results thinking I could ignore the physical hardship because I was used to sleepless nights anyway, but it wasn’t the case,” said Tiongco in his Facebook post.

Life as a student in SLU

Tiongco moved to Baguio City, where he studied senior high school at SLU Basic Education School. He later enrolled at SLU for his undergraduate degree in medical technology. 

“When I was in high school, I fell in love with blood bank, especially blood typing, so I intended to pursue medical technology,” Tiongco shared.

He was an active student leader in SLU. When asked how he managed his time, he said, “Very difficult siya. Actually nung high school hanggang 2nd year college, BS major in org (organizations) talaga ako, hindi ako BS major in medical technology.”

(It was very difficult. From high school until 2nd year college, I was actually a BS major in organizations, not a BS major in medical technology.)

He served as student council executive president when he was in Grade 12. In college, he served as a secretary, secretariat head, and academic committee head at SLU KASAMA. 

Despite this, Tiongco, just like every other student, struggled in school. “First year pa lang mahirap na talaga yung subjects, i-te-train ka na talaga nila. Ang hirap ng mga quizzes namin, super (The subjects are already difficult in my first year because the university is training us. The quizzes were super difficult.),” he said. 

He also admitted that he barely passed the university’s comprehensive exam. “Sobrang hirap niya to the point na meron din akong line of seven [na grade] (It was very hard, to the point that I received a grade with a line of seven)

Such events would have discouraged other students, but Tiongco did not let it get through him.

“Honestly hindi masama ‘yung feeling ko, at the very least pasado ako. Hindi ko na kailangan ulitin ‘yung process kasi grueling ‘yung process tapos uuliit ka nanaman (Honestly, I did not feel bad, at the very least I passed. I don’t need to repeat the process because the process is grueling for me to only do it once more),” he said. 

The setbacks

Studying for the board exam was not child’s play for Tiongco. He even had few people around him doubting him. 

“Very contradictory ‘to doon sa [Facebook] post ko, sinabi ko roon na walang nagdoubt sa akin pero meron at meron talaga (It’s very contradictory to my [Facebook] post, I said that no one doubted me but there actually were.), ” he said. 

Tiongco admitted experiencing several breakdowns before the board exam. “One month before the board naka-apat or limang breakdowns yata ako. Sinabi ko na hindi ko kaya [pumasa], baka bagsak ako. (A month before the board exam, I think I had four or five breakdowns. I said I can’t pass, I might fail.)”

Tiongco originally intended to take the board exam in March 2023. “Unfortunately, ‘yung TOR namin late na na-release (Unfortunately, my transcript of records was released late),” he said.

“Medyo masakit sa feeling, kasi I had plans for the entire year. Sabi ko nga after ng March magtuturo ako sa mga schools tapos magpapaopera pa ako ng mata ko kasi yung grado ko sobrang taas na,” he said. 

(It was a bit painful, because I had plans for the entire year. I planned to teach after March and then I planned to undergo surgery to fix my blurry eyesight.)

But these setbacks did not stop Tiongco from achieving his dream. He started reviewing again from April to August.

“During those times sila [family] ‘yung nagbubuhat sa akin, pagkain [and] everything para makapag-focus ako sa review ko (During those times they supported me, they gave me everything so that I can focus on my review.),” he said. 

“Na-postpone ‘yung plan ko pero kailangan tanggapin kasi ‘yun talaga eh, pero at least nagpayoff ‘yung mga desisyon ko,” Tiongco said.

(My plan was postponed but I have to accept it because that’s how it is. At least my decisions paid off.)

Aside from his family, his motivation to make his alma mater proud kept him going throughout the review process.

“I really wanted to deliver for our institution. I wanted to deliver the best results that I can,” he said.

And delivered he did. Tiongco is currently a first year medical student at SLU and is on his way to deliver back to the people who believed in him. – Allysa Areglo/Rappler.com

Allysa Areglo is a Cavite State University student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She is a digital communications intern at Rappler.

PIQUA — Edison State Community College is proud to announce that 100 percent of spring 2023 nursing graduates passed the National Council Licensing Examination (NCLEX). There were 27 graduates from the nursing program that took the exam, with all 27 earning a passing score on their first attempt.

“We’re so proud of our May 2023 graduating class for achieving a 100 percent pass rate on their NCLEX,” said Jill Bobb, Associate Dean of Nursing & Emergency Medical Services at Edison State. “Congratulations to both faculty and students!”

The exam, developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), is utilized by states and other jurisdictions to determine licensure as a registered nurse, to ensure public protection, and to measure the competencies needed to perform safely and effectively as a newly licensed, entry-level nurse.

The spring 2023 graduates took the new Next Generation NCLEX that launched on April 1.

“The Next Generation NCLEX was designed to better measure nursing candidates’ clinical judgment and decision-making abilities. The design includes innovative item types and took over a decade of research and testing to develop,” Bobb said.

“Our faculty worked hard to prepare students to take the new style of test from their very first nursing course,” she continued. “This was challenging due to the limited number of resources available to support them, but they spent extra time exposing students to the different types of test items and strengthening their clinical reasoning.”

Graduates of the nursing program receive an Associate of Applied Science and are eligible to take the NCLEX for licensure as a registered nurse. Such nurses are prepared to provide direct care to persons with common short- and long-term illnesses.

“I’m forever grateful for choosing to attend Edison State for my nursing education,” said graduate Tyler Gates. “The curriculum and instruction provided ensured I was receiving the best knowledge needed to prepare me to work as a registered nurse. I’m thankful for the instructors and my fellow classmates for getting me to the point of being able to sit for boards and care for patients to the best of my ability.”

Crystal Hammaker, who also graduated from the nursing program in May, added, “Participating in Edison State’s nursing program was one of the most rewarding decisions I’ve ever made in my life. The program challenged and shaped me into becoming a safe and compassionate nurse. The education I received has allowed me to fulfill my dreams of becoming an obstetrics nurse. I’m beyond blessed for the lifelong friends I’ve made in the program, and I’m so thankful for Edison State’s nursing faculty and their endless encouragement and support.”

The program is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing. The program consists of sequential courses that require five consecutive terms to complete.

For more information about the nursing program, visit www.edisonohio.edu/programs. Applications for the program will next be accepted from December 15, 2023, to January 31, 2024, for students interested in beginning the program in August of 2024.

Four more doctors have been arrested in Khulna over the leak of question papers of the centralised medical college admission test, said police's Criminal Investigation Department yesterday.

The arrestees are Lewis Sourav Sarkar, 30, Mustahin Hasan Lamia, 25, Sharmistha Mondal, 26, and Nazia Mehzabin Tisha, 24.

Speaking to this newspaper, CID Additional Superintendent of Police (media) Azad Rahman said the four were arrested from different parts of Khulna on Saturday and Sunday.

They were brought to the capital and produced before a Dhaka court yesterday that sent them to jail, he added.

Earlier in the day, their family members at a press briefing in Khulna said that the four doctors were picked up on August 18 by plainclothes men, who identified themselves as CID officers.

They said they visited the CID headquarters in Dhaka, but the officials didn't provide any information about their whereabouts or why they were detained, reports UNB.

On August 13, CID told a press briefing that it arrested 12 members of a "question paper leaking racket", from Dhaka, Tangail, Kishoreganj, and Barishal.

Of them, seven are physicians, including Yunusuzzaman Khan Tarim, 40, the owner of Three Doctors Coaching Centre in Khulna, who was arrested Friday.

The CID in a press release yesterday said it found transactions of Tk 25 crore in the bank accounts of Dr Tarim and his wife.

Dr Tarim engaged in leaking medical college entrance exam question papers and arranged illegal admission of numerous students to government medical colleges, it added.

Dr Lewis is an alumnus of Khulna Medical College and a teacher at Tarim's coaching centre. Currently, he works as a medical officer at an NGO.

Dr Lamia stood 11th on the national merit list for the medical college admission test during the 2015-16 session. She was a student at Tarim's coaching centre.

However, despite her impressive result in the entrance exam, Lamia initially failed in all subjects of the four final professional examinations. She later passed the exams after several attempts.

There were allegations that Lamia's husband, Sheikh Osman Gani, paid Tk 15 lakh to Dr Tarim to secure Lamia's admission, the CID claimed.

Additionally, the admissions of Dr Sharmistha and Dr Nazia to Khulna Medical College raised suspicions, as they allegedly acquired leaked question papers from Dr Tarim, the CID also claimed.

So far, the number of arrests in the case now stands at 28, with 14 of them giving confessional statements before a Dhaka court.

The CID has been investigating the case since July 2020, when they first busted the medical question leaking racket.

The racket leaked question papers at least 10 times between 2001 and 2017, earning crores of taka, CID chief Mohammad Ali Mia said at a press briefing at the CID Headquarters last week.

The people who have been arrested helped hundreds of students to enrol in medical colleges through illegal means, he added.

The question papers of medical and dental college admission tests were leaked repeatedly from the printing press under the Directorate General of Medical Education (DGME), according to the CID.

One Jasim Uddin Bhuiyan Munnu was the mastermind of this racket.

His cousin Abdus Salam, a machine operator at the DGME press, used to leak questions for many years, with help from influential DGME officials, while Jasim used to spread the leaked questions all over the country, using a strong network, said CID officials.