A Framework for Professional Readiness

The PREview exam was designed with medical schools in mind and was developed with their assistance and support. A variety of other health professions also value these skills, making the PREview exam a relevant measure of professional readiness for many post-graduate health education programs in addition to medical schools.  

The PREview exam asks examinees to identify effective and ineffective behaviors in real-world scenarios that students might encounter in their training. The scenarios and the responses examinees are asked to rate illustrate competencies within the two main skill areas — personal accountability and relational skills. 

Skill Areas Assessed by the Exam  

Personal Accountability: This skill area encompasses reliability, resilience, adaptability, ethical responsibility, and continuous self-improvement — qualities that help medical students manage challenges, remain accountable, and grow through reflection and feedback. 

Relational Skills: This skill area includes the ability to work effectively on teams, build relationships, and engage compassionately with patients and colleagues ­— qualities that help students engage effectively with peers, professors, colleagues, and eventually with patients. 

Why do These Skills Matter? 

Health education, the practice of medicine, and other health professions evolve constantly. Students and practitioners use their knowledge and critical thinking skills to stay current on the science and evidence that drives their understanding and supports their clinical decisions.  

During training, students demonstrate these skills by being active participants in group projects, completing assignments on time, attending classes regularly, providing support to classmates, seeking feedback, and modeling professionalism in their interactions with faculty, peers, and patients. 

Academic knowledge coupled with professional skills sets the foundation for students to further develop in the health professions.

• Health professionals committed to learning and growth may be better prepared to adapt to and integrate new information, scientific discoveries, technological advancements, and situations.  
• Providers who can work effectively on teams and collaborate, may be better able to create treatment plans, especially when they are caring for patients with more complex symptoms or chronic conditions.  
• Health professionals must be persistent, because the road to health for an individual or a community can be long and winding.  
• Patients depend and rely on their health care providers to provide timely information and follow-up care, so good communication skills are essential.  
• Health care providers who understand the barriers preventing patients from accessing care and complying with treatment are able to more effectively communicate with patients to remove those obstacles. 

These are a few examples of why the professionalism competencies matter — both to medical schools and the people receiving care. They go hand-in-hand with the scientific knowledge and principles learned before and during medical or graduate school, as well as throughout one’s career. 

Read More About the Competencies Tested on the PREview Exam 

Students demonstrate their understanding of each of the skill areas, which encompass multiple competencies. 

Personal Accountability 

Relational Skills