Prometric announced their extended closure of test centers until May 31, 2020 with the exception of a limited set of essential services programs. The United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) is considered an essential program, and certain centers will still be able to resume testing in accordance with local social distancing guidelines on May 1, 2020. More information about Prometric’s updated procedures, including enhanced test center measures, can be found on their website.
To conform with social distancing guidelines and keep separation between examinees, there will be a reduction of active workstations in Prometric testing rooms. To do this, Prometric plans to cancel a significant number of upcoming scheduled appointments. Their statement explains that random selection of canceled appointments will occur, and impacted candidates will be notified by Prometric starting today.
Prometric plans to expand testing capacity through increased test center hours and days of operation. Please keep checking their website for updates, and the USMLE program will continue to share new information.
The USMLE program extended eligibility periods to December 2020 for all examinees who had a USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK, Step 3, or USMLE Practice Session scheduling permit with an unexpired eligibility period with an end date in 2020, regardless of the country in which they are testing. The USMLE program will continue this process for any newly issued scheduling permits. Eligibility periods will be extended automatically, requiring no action from examinees.
The USMLE program recognizes the stress and uncertainty of this situation as many assessment programs are impacted by the backlog of examinees and the reduction of testing capacity at Prometric centers. They are actively working with the medical education and regulation community to mitigate the impact of testing disruption for U.S. and international medical students and graduates.
