Background

The AMA Medical Student Section's advocacy efforts regarding the Step 2 CS date back to 1999. The following documents have been devised along the way in our evolving focus to impact this exam. The information contained in these documents will provide you with history and background on this important issue.

• CSAE Position Statement
  Written by the 2002-2003 MSS Governing Council Chair, David Buck, MD
• Letter to the Section on Medical Schools (Word, 24KB)
  Sent to the Chair of the AMA's Section on Medical Schools on Feb. 12, 2002, to urge their constituents to address clinical skills assessment at the medical schools
• Press Release - June 28, 2002 (Word, 56KB)
  Release announcing AMA's policy passed at the 2002 Annual Meeting to suspend implementation of the clinical skills assessment examination
• Letter to medical school deans (Word, 58KB)
  This letter was sent to all medical school deans in September 2005 asking them to avoid linking passage of the CSAE and COMLEX-PE to graduation requirements for at least the first five years after the implementation of the proposed exam.
• Summary (Word, 41KB) of the meeting between MSS, RFS and NBME leadership
  The MSS and RFS leadership met during the 2005 Interim Meeting in December with Dr. Peter Scoles, Vice President for Asssessment for the National Board of Medical Examiners to discuss customer service and examination computer problems. We emphasized AMA policy, which clearly states that the right place to test medical students is within the medical schools themselves.

CSAE Position Statement