- Students must sign-in upon entering the exam room.
- Students must sit in their assigned seats. Only Dean Goldberg can approve a change in seating assignment when needed. No chairs should be moved by students prior to or during the exam.
- Foam ear plugs to reduce noise are allowed and will also be available during the exam.
- Students may bring only an iPad and pencils/pens to the exam, unless otherwise instructed. A light jacket and food/drink are also permitted, provided they cause no disruption to other students during the exam. Drink cups/bottles must have lids. Should disruptions occur, the exam proctors have discretion to revise this policy.
- No backpacks or bags are allowed into the examination room. Please lock all of your items in your locker before you enter the exam room to sign in. If you do not have a locker, you will need to make special arrangements (pack lighter, etc).
- No cell phones are allowed into the examination room.There will be a zero tolerance policy for cell phones, even if they are turned off. If they are found on your person, it is an honor code violation. Please lock them in your locker or leave them at home.
- No watches of any kind are allowed to be worn during examinations. Because there are smart watches on the market now, watches will no longer be allowed and they are NOT allowed at your board examination either.
- All iPads should be completely charged before students arrive to the exam. No student will be permitted to move closer to an outlet during the exam. In the event that an iPad loses power during the exam, the student will finish the exam on paper.
- If a student is locked out of a block exam and cannot get back in, the student must restart and take the full exam on paper. In this case, answers on ExamSoft will not count.
- Students must agree to abide by the Honor Code at the start of each exam.
- Students are not permitted to ask questions regarding content or clarification of a question during an exam. Exam proctors will take questions only about the exam itself (i.e. if there are 2 #46 questions or if there are only 2 options listed, etc). If you have a question, write it on a piece of scratch paper and raise your hand to call attention to the proctor.
- The length of any exam should be such that no student needs to leave the exam room at any time. If a student needs to leave, a proctor must approve the request and the student’s iPad and other testing material must be turned in to the proctor. At the proctor’s discretion, two males and two females may be excused to use the restroom at the same time. Students must sign in and out if they leave the exam room. The student must not be gone for more than five minutes. No student will be permitted to leave more than twice per exam. If you anticipate having an issue with this, please contact Dean Goldberg and make arrangements beforehand. When you use the bathroom, type your name on the projected bathroom list and take a seat. When you see that it is your turn, sign your name and time out on the sign out sheet. When you return, sign in and erase your name from the projected list.
- The examination time will begin when the proctor says to begin and will end when the proctor states that time is up. Although you may have a few minutes remaining on your examination, you must close your examination when the proctor announces that time is up. Those that show up to the examination late will not receive extra time. The time remaining will be projected on the screen or written on the chalkboard during the examination. Budget your time according to the proctor's time, not the time remaining on your iPad.
- If you show up for the NBME exam on time and are having laptop technical difficulties, you will be permitted the full amount of time for the exam. If you show up late for the NBME exam, the amount of time you are late will be deducted from the overall time permitted for the exam.
- Upon completion of an exam, students must submit the exam and display the green or finish screen to the exam proctor and sign out.
- The proctor will announce when ten minutes remain for the exam, after which students must remain seated until the end of the exam period, when the proctor has seen all the “completion” screens for all remaining testers. At this announcement, the exam period is over and all students must submit their exam. There will be no extra time allotted.
- At least one proctor will remain in the exam room for the entirety of the exam.
- In the event of an emergency, immediately close your iPad and leave the exam room as directed by the emergency instructions posted in the exam room.
These guidelines were approved by the Honor/Professionalism Council 7/2016. The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Exam Date Change Procedure
It is expected that all students in the M.D. program will take exams on the scheduled date and time. If an emergency occurs, or an extremely important date/time conflict arises, and a student must request a change in date or time of an exam, the student must follow the following procedure.
- The student needs to complete the “Change in Exam Date” form, found in the Dean’s Office. The student then needs to meet with Dean Goldberg to discuss the reason for the request. The student may also discuss the request with the course coordinator, if he or she wishes.
- Dean Goldberg will then confer with the course coordinator regarding the reason as well as faculty and exam availability. She will also consider overall consistency regarding rescheduling requests and contact the student with a decision.
- If an emergency situation arises which prevents a student from following the above procedure, the student should try and reach Dean Goldberg in the Dean’s Office at (202) 994-3176 or on her cell phone. If she cannot be reached, leave a message, email her at rmgoldb@gwu.edu, and also continue to try to contact her. Do not assume that you are excused unless you have permission.
- Please remember that we operate under the assumption that all exams will be taken on time, except for extreme situations. If you arrive late for an exam, you will be expected to complete the exam at the scheduled end time. If you do not receive permission to reschedule an exam and do not show up for the exam, you will receive a “0” on that exam.