National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Research Articles

Effects of test item disclosure on medical licensing examination

In 2012, the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board of Korea decided to publicly disclose all test items and answers to satisfy the test takers’ right to know and enhance the transparency of tests administered by the government. This study investigated the effects of item disclosure on the medical licensing examination (MLE), examining test taker performance, psychometric characteristics, and factors affecting pass rates. This paper analyzed examinee performance data (n = 20,455) from 41 medical schools who took the MLE before (2009–2011) and after (2012–2014) the item disclosure policy (5548 total items). Changes in passing rates, performance of examinee, difficulty and reliability of the test, and factors affecting pass rate of the medical licensing examination before and after item disclosure were analyzed. In order to identify changes caused by item disclosure in the effects of student and school variables on the passing rate of MLE, Binary Logistic Hierarchical Linear Model was used. There was no significant change in pass rates before and after item disclosure. There was a modest increase in the proportion of test takers in the high-scoring group, following item disclosure. Degree completion status, gender, age of applicants and school mean were significant factors affecting pass rates, regardless of item disclosure. There was no difference between passing rates before and after item disclosure with respect to student- and school-level variables. Despite potential concerns for changes in test and examinee characteristics, empirical findings indicate that there was no significant difference caused by implementing item disclosure.

Presidential address: launching the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute, a government-supported special foundation from December 23, 2015.

Presidential address: launching the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute, a government-supported special foundation from December 23, 2015.

Licensing of medical biochemists and specialists in laboratory medicine, Croatian academic educated professionals in health care.

(page number not for citation purposes) 2016, National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board of the Republic of Korea This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions

Should it be a trigger to establish a medical regulatory body in Korea?: A case of hepatitis C epidemic due to reuse of disposable syringes in a local clinic in Seoul.

Should it be a trigger to establish a medical regulatory body in Korea?: A case of hepatitis C epidemic due to reuse of disposable syringes in a local clinic in Seoul.

How much is Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions promoted based on journal metrics?

(page number not for citation purposes) 2015, National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board of the Republic of Korea This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions

Reforms of the Korean Medical Licensing Examination regarding item development and performance evaluation.

Purpose:The Korean Medical Licensing Examination (KMLE) has undergone a variety of innovative reforms implemented by the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board (NHPLEB) in order to make it a competency-based test. The purpose of this article is to describe the ways in which the KMLE has been reformed and the effect of those innovations on medical education in Korea.Methods:Changes in the KMLE were traced from 1994 to 2014 by reviewing the adoption of new policies by the NHPLEB and the relevant literature.Results:The most important reforms that turned the examination into a competency-based test were the following: First, the subjects tested on the exam were revised; second, R-type items were introduced; third, the proportion of items involving problem-solving skills was increased; and fourth, a clinical skills test was introduced in addition to the written test. The literature shows that the above reforms have resulted in more rigorous licensure standards and have improved the educational environment of medical schools in Korea.Conclusion:The reforms of the KMLE have led to improvements in how the competency of examinees is evaluated, as well as improvements in the educational system in medical schools in Korea.

부산, 경남지역 치과기공사의 직무분석

Purpose: This study intends to set standard for organizing the curriculum of short-term dental technicians and the change of job environment, as well as the knowledge & training, by identifying the importance and actual job performance of dental technicians following job analysis in the university education of Dept. of Dental Laboratory Technology, and furthermore to foster junior executives to cope with modernization and globalization. Methods: The tools used in this study are based on the job analysis of research report suggested by National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board(Lee Gyu-seon, 2011), and it consists of general characteristic 7 items. Every competence duty was measured through Likert 5 point gauging, and internal consistency through Cronbach’s Alpha. The competence importance of entire questionnaire was .984 and its performance was .874, reflecting considerably high level, and in terms of each competence duty, high credibility was proved and high internal consistency was verified with competence importance ranging from the minimum .655 to the maximum .966 and its performance ranging from the minimum .677 to the maximum .993. Results: Competence importance and its performance in each duty on the job analysis of dental technicians were measured. In competence importance in each duty, the highest was “checking design order form”(average, 4.52), followed by “selling dental prosthesis°”(average 4.49), “making removable orthodontic appliance”(average, 4.48), “open managing dental laboratory”(average, 4.46) in order. However, “making complete denture” was found the lowest(average, 4.23), with importance of all competence dutys was considerably high level. In the performance of its competence duty, “checking design order form”(average, 4.04) was found to be the most importance competence, followed by “making conservative restoration”(average, 4.00), “making porcelain”(average 3.98), “checking working cast”(average, 3.90) in order. However it was found out that “making fixed orthodontic appliance”(average, 3.12) was the lowest, and the importance of all competence dutys was quite high level. [Abstract]

Five suggestions for future medical education in Korea.

This study is to investigate the historical characteristics of medical education and healthcare environment in Korea and to suggest the desirable direction for future medical education. We draw a consensus through the literature analysis and several debates from the eight experts of medical education. There are several historical characteristics of medical education: medical education as vocational education and training, as a higher education, rapid growth of new medical schools, change to the medical education system, curriculum development, reinforcement of medical humanities, improvement of teaching and evaluation methods, validation of the national health personnel licensing examination, accreditation system for quality assurance, and establishment of specialized medical education division. The changes of health care environment in medical education are development of medical technologies, changes in the structures of the population and diseases, growth of information and communication technology, consumer-centered society, and increased intervention by the third party stakeholder. We propose five suggestions to be made to improve future medical education. They are plan for outcome and competency-based medical education, connection between the undergraduate and graduate medical education, reinforcement of continuous quality improvement of medical education, reorganization of the medical education system and construction of leadership of "academic medicine."

데이컴 기법에 의한 1급 응급구조사 직무분석

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the extended job of paramedic after the 1st job description in 2000 by the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board. Methods: This study was carried out from May 2012 to July 2013 on the Developing A Curriculum (DACUM) method to analysts 330 responses among 400 questionnaires (response rate 82.5%) after analysing 30 pilot questionnaires. In order to enhance validity and reliability of this job description, 2 job analysts in universities and 10 EMT-Paramedics in hospitals and fire stations were recruited. Results: There were differences between 166 (year 2000) and 240 (2012) in task element. There were higher answering at triaging patient(2.64 frequency, 4.15 importance), calling for help(2.68 frequency, 4.07 importance) in disaster emergency care. There were higher answering at measuring vital sign (3.95 frequency, 4.22 importance), measuring ECG(3.84 frequency, 4.14 importance), wound care(3.48 frequency, 3.86 importance), bleeding control & wound care(3.46 frequency, 3.86 importance), applying O2(3.40 frequency, 3.94 importance) in physician assistant. Conclusion: Scope of extended practice as a physician assistant in hospital setting recommended us to replace the present curriculum and national exam with new curriculum and national written & skill test.

한국 치위생(학)과 표준교육과정안 개발

Objectives : In order to make a proposal of a Korean standard dental hygiene curriculum, the job description of the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board was analyzed to prepare a job analysis matrix of dental hygienist to select required core competency. Methods : Data were analyzed to test the job validity of dental hygienist and categorize the duties of dental hygienist. A proposal of a standard dental hygiene curriculum was mapped out by making a comparative analysis of the courses necessary for American authorization of dental hygiene curriculum, existing proposals of Korean standard dental hygiene curriculum and the courses of the departments of dental hygiene offered by domestic three-year colleges and four-year universities. Results : Basic medicine courses were reinforced or newly offered to provide an opportunity for students to transfer to a domestic four-year university or to a foreign university. In the field of clinical dental hygiene and practice, preventive dentistry, prophylaxis and practice were integrated, and the names of the related courses were unified to give a chance for students to engage in comprehensive dental hygiene practice. There were different courses for dental clinical science at present. In this proposal, students should earn 125 credits in total. Conclusions : Standard dental hygiene curriculum proposal was required by three-year and four-year colleges across the nation. To make it happen, the original names of dental hygiene courses should be used, and the dental hygiene certification and evaluation institute that is under the umbrella of the Korean Dental Hygienists Association should lay out the standard of the KSDHEP to facilitate the utilization of the standard dental hygiene curriculum proposal.

President's address: Research and development on computer-based testing and extension of clinical skill examination to a variety of fields

(page number not for citation purposes) 2013, National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board of the Republic of Korea This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions

The integration process of North Korean defector physicians into the South Korean medical system

Physicians who have defected from North Korea and settled in South Korea (North Korean defector physicians, NKDPs) have experienced hardship in the occupational integration process due to their low socio-economic status, lack of information, and differences in medicosocial cultures, English-based medical terminology, and the clinical knowledge gap between North and South Korea. Here, we review the relevant literature on the credentialing process for former Soviet physicians in Israel. We present empirical findings regarding the ongoing educational experience of NKDPs preparing for the Korean national medical licensing examination. The approval process from the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board for NKDPs to sit for the national medical licensing examination under the current licensing system needs more objective credentialing criteria. Systematic and sustained supportive plans are needed for educating NKPDs to prepare for the licensing examination. Securing additional internships and residencies is needed for further sustained training of NKDPs after certification. A continuing medical education program can address the needs of those who have not completed a residency program for primary care and improve quality of care. We hope more extensive discussion will take place on the credentialing and integration of NKPDs following a policy of engagement from the perspective of human resource building and partnership for unification of the medical system between South and North Korea.

North Korean defectors seeking health certification to take the national medical licensing examination in the Republic of Korea: figures and procedures

In May 2011, the Ministry of Unification of the Republic of Korea (Korea) announced that 21,165 defectors from Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) had settled in Korea. Since healthcare workers are counted among these defectors, it is necessary to provide them with a pathway to certification to work in Korea. This report summarizes the vetting and approval process defectors from North Korea must pass through to be eligible to take the national medical licensing examination. Defectors must pass an oral test conducted by the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board to be eligible to sit for the exam. From 2002 to August 2011, 41 North Korean defectors applied for the approval process to take the exam. Twenty-nine were approved (70.7%): 23 physicians, 1 dentist, 2 oriental medical doctor, 1 nurse, and 2 pharmacists. Out of 29 approved, 11 passed the licensing examination (39.3%). This report also highlights the difficulty in assessing North Korean defectors’ eligibility by oral test, and suggests that adequate competency should be emphasized to recognize their unique abilities as healthcare personnel.

President's address: 20 years of perspiration and 20 years of admiration

Of all the goals listed in last year's President's address, most of them were realized. The National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board (NHPLEB) of the Republic of Korea earned the ISO 9001 certificate in August 2011. The Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions (JEEHP) was accepted as an official journal of the Association for Medical Education in the Western Pacific Region. This means that a new international window was opened for communicating ideas on educational evaluation within the Western Pacific Region. Another remarkable project was two trial runs of an examination of ubiquitous-based testing (UBT) for medical technologist students in November and December 2011. Smart pads were kindly provided by Korea Telecom. Some bandwidth problems and procedural mistakes in the first examination were corrected in the second one. The response from examinees and the faculty was favorable to UBT suggesting the possibility of introducing UBT to the variety of national health personnel licensing examinations. At last November's meeting of the Board of the Korean Medical Licensing Examination, the NHPLEB was also asked to prepare for the introduction of computer-based testing (CBT) within 7 years. 2012 is the 20th anniversary of NHPLEB. To continue the success of the last 20 years of hard work and perspiration, a conference will be held this May. Here, the new short-term and long-term goals of NHPLEB and new educational evaluation projects will be discussed in depth, preparing plans for the next 20 years worthy of our pride and admiration. Among those planned projects, UBT and CBT will be implemented to two health personnel fields, medical technologists and dentists as trial run of examination. I have been pleased to observe the increase in the papers published through this journal. In 2012, I hope an even greater number of invaluable articles will appear in the journal to promote higher quality educational evaluation for health personnel.

Addendum to Failed Examinees' Legal Challenge over the Clinical Skill Test in the Korean Medical Licensing Examination

In December 8, 2010, the trial concerning the legal challenge over the clinical skill test in the Korean Medical Licensing Examination that was administered beginning in February 2010 ended [1]. The judge of the Administrative Court in Seoul reached a verdict, rejecting the suit brought by the examinees who failed. The summary of the court decision [2] is translated by the present author as follows: The items of the clinical performance test were designed to evaluate the clinical practice capacity. To evaluate the examinees' capacity, a physician's direct oversight is not essential. Well-trained standardized patients can do it. Other developed countries accept standardized patients as evaluators of clinical performance. In addition, standardized patients participate in the grading of the examinee's performance. It cannot be concluded that only the physician can grade examinees consistently. The activities of the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board cannot be said to be against the discretionary power of examination by weakening the rationality or interests of justice. The above decision was as expected. Activities of professional organizations or societies are usually not overturned in court if they do not violate common sense. However, it is only a matter of time before the licensing test is challenged in court again, and dealing with such trivial lawsuits is a waste of time and human resources. We should design and construct a system to prevent lawsuits that distract the leaders of our profession in this country from focusing on improving the quality of care for our patients through fair and rigorous medical licensing.

President's address: Improving the quality of testing

The National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board (NHPLEB) of the Republic of Korea completed the clinical skill test for the Medical Licensing Examination in 2009 and 2010 that was introduced for the first time in Asia. This was only possible due to the great amount of time devoted by the medical professors and staff of NHPLE. To improve the evaluation of what examinees can do instead of only what they know, a clinical skill test should also be administered in other health professional fields. Recently, the NHPLEB has dealt with 160,000 examinees including licensed practical nurses, caregivers, and certified health education specialists. The NHPLE will apply to the ISO 9001 certification process in 2011. Also, the work of the ad hoc team for computer-based testing will be extended in 2011. On December 14, 2010, during the meeting with the President of the Association for Medical Education in the Western Pacific Region (AMEWPR), Dr. Duck-Sun Ahn, it was agreed that the Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions will be an official journal of the AMEWPR beginning in July 2011 after going through a scheduled process. Workshops for the capability on how to develop test item will be continued specific to each field so that the pool of examiners can be expanded. The year 2012 is the 20th anniversary of the NHPLEB. Thus preparations for the international conference to celebrate the 20th anniversary will begin in 2011. I appreciate all readers and the health personnel educators for their support of the NHPLEB in 2010. I will persevere in my effort to develop the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination in every way in 2011.

Failed Examinees' Legal Challenge over the Clinical Skill Test in the Korean Medical Licensing Examination

The first trial of the clinical skill test for the 2009 Korean Medical Licensing Examination was completed without remarkable problems or mistakes. In this volume, a technical report by Dr. Kun Sang Kim, President of the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board (NHPLE) of Korea describes the introduction and administration of the clinical skill test [1]. However, afterward, 66 failed examinees filed a legal dispute. In February 2010, they sued the NHPLE to cancel their failure of the clinical skill test based on three justifications. First, there was variation in test item difficulty because the items were different for each group. Second, raters of the clinical performance examinations were standardized patients, not medical doctors like the objective structured clinical examination. Third, unlike the written test, there was no announcement on the passing criteria before the test [2]. Those three issues had already been taken into consideration and the NHPLE felt it had addressed them adequately by adopting the testing system of foreign countries where there is longer history of clinical skill testing than that of Korea. The judge is going to decide the case in early December 2010. The results of this case may influence further execution of Korea's clinical skill test.

Introduction and Administration of the Clinical Skill Test of the Medical Licensing Examination, Republic of Korea (2009)

The first trial of the clinical skill test as part of the Korean Medical Licensing Examination was done from September 23 to December 1, 2009, in the clinical skill test center located in the National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board (NHPLEB) building, Seoul. Korea is the first country to introduce the clinical skill test as part of the medical licensing examination in Asia. It is a report on the introduction and administration of the test. The NHPLEB launched researches on the validity of introducing the clinical skill test and on the best implementation methods in 2000. Since 2006, lists of subjects of test items for the clinical skill test has been developed. The test consisted of two types of evaluation, i.e., a clinical performance examination (CPX) with a standardized patient (SP) and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The proctor (medical faculty member) and SP rate the examinees' proficiency for the OSCE and CPX respectively. Out of 3,456 applicants, 3,289 examinees (95.2%) passed the test. Out of 167 examinees who failed the clinical skill test, 142 passed the written test. This means that the clinical skill test showed characteristics independent from the written test. This successful implementation of the clinical skill test is going to improve the medical graduates' performance of clinical skills.

Adoption of clinical skills examination: the challenge of national health personnel licensing examination board.

Received: April 30, 2009 • Accepted: May 15, 2009 Corresponding Author: Moon Shik Kim National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board, 224 Jayang-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul 143-873, Korea TEL) 02-476-2333 FAX) 02-2088-1081 E-mail) mskim@kuksiwon.or.kr 1) President of National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board, Republic of Korea (2004. 5~2009. 6.) Korean J Med Educ 2009 Sep; 21(3): 215-216. doi: 10.3946/kjme.2009.21.3.215.

Clinical Skills Assessment in Korean Medical Licensing Examination

In addition to the traditional MCQ test, National Medical Licensing Examination Board(NMLEB) will introduce clinical skills assessment as an independent exam for MD qualification in 2009. The clinical skills test will evaluate six procedural skills and six clinical problems by using OSCE and CPX. The validity and reliability of the test should be established by continuing effort from experts and efficient administration. The test may change the curriculum of clinical education in many medical schools. National Health Personnel Licensing Examination Board(NHPLEB) is required to prepare this exam step by step and maintain the quality of the skills exam. There should be opportunity for medical students to participate in clinical practice during bedside teaching. Collaboration between exam institution and medical schools will be needed for a successful launching of the skills test.