Hopefully the NBME will put out a statement about this in their weekly USMLE updates. Kinda ridiculous that all these other boards have come out and said something and we're sitting in the dark.COVID-19 Update | Prometric
www.prometric.com
Closed through May 31st. However, they say limited testing will be available to "essential workforce" programs defined by CISA which healthcare falls under so not sure what they will do with USMLE/COMLEX.
Their latest updates says no because that would disrupt the integrity of the exam lol. I think the bigger issue here is the mental health problems this is going to cause...I was speaking with someone who was scheduled in March who had theirs cancelled on the day, then had their rescheduled exam cancelled. They said they can't handle it and are very burned out/depressed. I heard the argument that Step 1/2 might not be considered essential exams since they are not the final exams to licensure like that PT exam is, but I think NBME (and NBOME) can definitely make the argument that these are likely the most high-stakes exams Prometric offers and should be considered essential based on that alone. The question is whether NBME even cares enough about us to make that argument.
I'm fully in agreement with you, that's just an argument I heard some people making. Again, it would be nice if we didn't have to keep speculating and making these arguments in the first place...I get that NBME/NBOME are at the mercy of Prometric, but so are all these other boards and they've managed to put out statements.
Yeah, for once regretting living in a more populated area and wishing I was scheduled in Montana or something lol
Hopefully it won’t be too bad since they’re extending hours and opening up Sunday testing and all that.
I am between taking 15 or 16 as baseline this weekend. Good luck! Let me know what you think of 16.
I felt good after the essential exams thing but now my faith has kinda gone out the window. Not to say that we're superior to CPAs, but if their exam is essential it just seems like Prometric made any licensing exam essential and maybe just things like the MCAT/SAT/etc got pushed. So I'm thinking it'll just end up being a random 50% get booted out...hopefully they don't keep us waiting till a week before our dates to find out.
I feel the same way, the uncertainty is what's killing me. I looked yesterday for dates either near home or by my school and could only find something a month after I'm scheduled now. I'm worried that by the time Prometric lets us know we're cancelled (seems like they have a habit for waiting till the week before), the backlog will be months. I don't know how we're supposed to continue studying for Step 1 once we start clerkships and are supposed to start shelf/Step 2 studying. That's why I think our exams should be prioritized: a CPA can take their exams at any point and the amount of prep is not nearly the same. They can take the exams infinite times until they pass.
Yup. And technically you don't even need to be licensed to work, I mean you can't work as a CPA but you can get a job just based on having the Master's in Accounting. I know a couple of people who just couldn't pass the exam and they still have a job.
Yeah kind of insane. They should figure out all the cancelations and then announce a day that they're going to release them. Like, say May 1st, just release all canceled exams for May and June. This is seriously the worst way they could go about doing this, keeping us all on edge.
Them being flexible just means they'll extend the requirement to have it done, I can't imagine them being any more accommodating, especially for Step. They'll just say we don't need to take Step anyways. My school just made it sound like they wouldn't require us to have Level 1 done by end of July like it is currently. I definitely can't imagine my school giving me time off to do a pseudo-dedicated part 2.
If my Step gets cancelled and not my COMLEX, I would see if I could honestly just swap them. I know odds are low but I really don't want to sit for COMLEX before Step considering I don't plan on doing any COMLEX specific studying. My COMLEX is in July so maybe things will be different but I doubt it because it seems like they will still be social distancing into the foreseeable future. It actually may be worse if they decide to re-open to all exams because we'll have a higher chance of getting axed if they stick to the random 50%.
Read the other posts in here that's for non essential exams which we are not considered.(we are essential). We dont know of this will overrule the stay at home order though
Commenting to stay subscribed to cancellation updates.
My guess is that each Prometric site has been made responsible for measuring out a new floor plan to maximize test-takers, and then randomly cancel however many necessary. They're probably giving the sites a week to send in this information and so your email timing will vary based on your test center. They're all different sizes and layouts, so it makes sense why they couldn't give us blanket dates or send all emails at once.
Do you think they will do all of May and June together, or keep us June people waiting? I saw some cancelations of June dates so I assume all together?
Yeah there's clearly been some activity in June test dates both on Reddit and SDN so far. I'm guessing all the sites have been told to figure out a new setup by May 1st that will be what they use throughout May and June, probably even past that.
Good point, probably don't want to deal with the local Prometric staff getting slipped $1,000 to "randomly" not cancel you. Random cancels assigned at the national office after hearing each site's max capacity is probably what's happening behind the scenes.
