The Testing Board is a state non-profit enterprise, authorized by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to evaluate the professional competence of students and medical / pharmaceutical interns by conducting objective external independent assessment. This evaluation is conducted in the test-based format and is mandatory for all students majoring in “22 Healthcare” branch of knowledge (the full List of Specializations within this branch of knowledge has been adopted under Decree № 497, issued by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on May 19, 2021).

The Testing Board conducts organizational and methodological work aimed at designing and administering the exams and grading the results: test-based components of the Unified State Qualification Exam (USQE), taken by Master’s, Bachelor’s, and vocational pre-higher education students, as well as “Krok 3” Licensing Integrated Exam, taken by medical / pharmaceutical interns.

Exam contents, size, and duration vary depending on the specialization and academic program level of the examinees.

USQE for vocational pre-higher education and Bachelor’s students consists of one test-based stage: “Krok” Integrated Test-Based Exam (Krok M and Krok B, respectively).

Krok M Exam is taken by vocational pre-higher education students after the theory component of their academic program is completed.

Krok B Exam is taken by Bachelor’s program students during the last year of their academic program.

USQE for Master’s program students consists of two stages.

USQE, Stage 1 is taken during their third (specialties “Medicine”, “Stomatology”, “Pediatrics”, “Medical Psychology”, and “Pharmacy, Industrial Pharmacy”) or second year of study (specialties “Technologies of Medical Diagnostics and Treatment”, “Public Health”, and “Therapy and Rehabilitation”).

USQE, Stage 2 is taken during their fifth (specialties “Stomatology” and “Pharmacy, Industrial Pharmacy”) or sixth year of study (specialties “Medicine”, “Pediatrics”, and “Medical Psychology”)

USQE, Stage 1, for students majoring in “Technologies of Medical Diagnostics and Treatment”, “Public Health”, and “Therapy and Rehabilitation” consists of one test-based component: “Krok 2” Integrated Test-Based Exam. For all other specialties, USQE, Stage 1, consists of two test-based components: “Krok 1” Integrated Test-Based Exam and Vocational English Language Proficiency Test (Vocational ELPT).

Krok 1 Exam is a test-based component of USQE, Stage 1 that assesses the examinees’ competence in basic (fundamental) sciences.

Vocational ELPT is a test-based component of USQE, Stage 1 that assesses the level at which the examinees understand vocational English in the process of their vocational training, especially the terminology used in basic sciences and English grammar. Vocational ELPT is taken along with Krok 1 Exam and together they comprise one stage.

USQE, Stage 2, consists of one test-based component: “Krok 2” Integrated Test-Based Exam that assesses the examinees’ competence in clinical (profession-oriented) sciences.

The final assessment (evaluation) of medical / pharmaceutical interns includes “Krok 3” Licensing Integrated Exam as a standardized tool that allows assessing, whether medical / pharmaceutical interns are acquiring all the competences required under their internship training program and how well they have mastered these competences. As the first stage of the final evaluation of medical / pharmaceutical interns, Krok 3 Exam is designed and administered by the Testing Board in pen-and-paper or computer-based format, using the standardized testing technologies. The format for taking Krok 3 Exam is decided by the Testing Board.