Standardized Examinations

In addition to the continuous assessment our students take a variety of independently developed standardized exams to assess and monitor their progress; most of which are developed by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) from the United States.

Comprehensive Basic Science Exam (CBSE)

At the end of the first and second year, students are required to take the Comprehensive Basic Science Exam. This exam provides the student with a picture of their strengths and weaknesses in the core basic science content and enables them to create a study plan for the higher-staked United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) to be taken later in their training. This exam also provides the school with valuable feedback on the curriculum impact.

United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) and National Board of Medical Examiner (NBME) Exams

During their second year as part of the clerkship assessment, students take the NBME Subject exams, specific to that clinical discipline. The results of this exam are factored into the students' final grades along with their continuous assessments and observations of performance for each clerkship.

The Duke-NUS students are also required to take two of the four USMLE exams while in school. USMLE, the licensing body for the United States, works with NBME to create the licensing exams in the US. There are 4 parts to that exam: Step 1 (basic science), Step 2 CK (clinical knowledge), Step 2 CS (clinical skills), and Step 3 (final licensing exam taken after 1 year of internship). Our students take Step 1 and Step 2 CK. Step 1 is similar to the CBSE and is generally taken sometime in the middle of the third year. Step 2 CK is generally taken sometime during late third year or early fourth year. We are unable to administer the Step 2 CS locally, so we have prepared our own version of this exam. We have two administrations; first at the end of the second year their clinical year to assess their progress and competency in clinical skills and clinical medicine. The second administration is in the middle of fourth year; this also serves to assess a student’s competency and readiness for their postgraduate training.