Professionalism matters to medical and health professions schools. They seek applicants who have developed an understanding of professionalism and who are ready to advance their competencies. The AAMC PREview® professional readiness exam is designed to look beyond academic metrics to assess and evaluate the professional competencies that schools have found important for success.
When combined with other elements of the admissions process, the PREview exam provides a more complete picture of applicants.
What is the PREview exam and what does it measure?
As a student pursuing a medical or health professions career, how do you envision the quality of care you will one day provide? In addition to technical skill and advanced scientific knowledge, you will need empathy and compassion, a willingness to collaborate with colleagues, and a commitment to lifelong learning. These are among the relational skills and standards of personal accountability that are assessed by the PREview exam and that schools are seeking in their applicants.
The AAMC collaborates with subject matter experts in the ongoing development of the PREview exam. These experts work closely with students and understand the expectations and responsibilities of future healthcare professionals. They include a group of admissions officers, faculty, student affairs representatives, and others.
What is the format of the PREview exam?
The PREview exam is a standardized, situational judgment test that presents a series of hypothetical scenarios and asks examinees to evaluate the effectiveness of a series of behavior responses to each scenario. Examinees’ responses provide insight into their knowledge of effective and ineffective behaviors across the professional competencies for students entering post-graduate health care education.
The exam is delivered through a secure online testing environment. It includes a single test section. The scenarios are text-based and they are similar to what you may encounter in medical school or health professions training. It is a relatively short exam at just 75 minutes (1 hour, 15 minutes), and includes 186 multi-choice responses, efficiently assessing your understanding of the professional competencies.