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Christine H. McGuire, MA

JAMA. 1995;274(9):735-740.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

All living physicians who have ever practiced medicine in the United States share memories of a common ordeal—designed, most of us believe, to protect the public or, as some cynics would have it, to preserve a profitable monopoly—namely, the examination for licensure and/or specialty certification. Herewith, a very personal view of the alleged horrors of"how it used to be" and an account of the changes (progress?) I have witnessed over the past third of a century in the philosophy, procedures, and techniques of assessing physician competence.

For editorial comment see p 741.

When I entered the field of medical testing 35 years ago, no one had ever heard the word "simulation" applied to examinations in medicine, nor had anyone read a book or seen a test printed in invisible ink. The few existing computers occupied entire floors of large university buildings; litigation against a testing authority for unwelcome results was . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Medical Education, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine. Ms McGuire is professor emerita.

Footnotes
Correspondence to Ms Christine H. McGuire, 2231 E 67th St, Apt 14D, Chicago, IL 60649.

In Retrospect section editor: Charlene Breedlove, MA, Associate Editor, JAMA.

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