Testing Conditions SPEX is a proctored examination. Failure to comply with all directions and instructions from proctors may result in a determination of irregular behavior. Test center staff are required to report violations of test administration rules or other forms of irregular behavior to the PLAS program; each report is fully investigated.
When you apply to take the SPEX, you are agreeing to the Rules of Conduct in the SPEX Information Bulletin. If you violate these Rules of Conduct, you may be directed to leave the test center before you complete the examination. Also, evidence of violation of any test administration rule, including the Rules of Conduct, will result in actions being taken under PLAS policies and procedures on irregular behavior (see additional information in the SPEX Information Bulletin). If you are found to have engaged in irregular behavior, your score report and transcripts will include this finding, and you may be barred from taking the SPEX in the future.
Test Accommodations
The SPEX program provides reasonable accommodations to examinees with documented disabilities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended in 2008, together ("ADA"). If you are covered under the ADA and require test accommodations, please click here for information regarding the application process and documentation requirements. Requests for test accommodations must be made in writing at the time the SPEX application is submitted.
Examinees who Require Personal Items in the Testing Room
Unauthorized possession of personal items in the secure areas of the testing center is prohibited (see "Personal Belongings" section below). However, in certain limited circumstances, exceptions to this policy may be made for medical reasons, provided that permission is granted in advance of the test date(s). If you believe you have a medical condition that requires you to use medication, an external appliance, or electronic device in the secure areas of the test center, you must submit a written request to the address provided below or via email to spex@fsmb.org at least four weeks prior to their anticipated test date. You will need to explain the necessity for the exception and provide documentation from your medical professional substantiating your need to use the item(s) during test administration.
Examples of appliances and devices to which this policy applies include insulin pumps, inhalers, medications, TENS units, breast pumps, hearing aids, wheelchairs, canes, crutches and casts. If you are unsure if you should request an exception, please contact the Coordinator for Special Examination Services via email at spex@fsmb.org.
You are not required to obtain advance permission to wear eyeglasses or contact lenses during testing, or to consume food or medication on authorized breaks. All personal items, including those permitted as an exception under this policy, are subject to inspection at the test center. If you bring an item, including an appliance or device, to your test administration without obtaining permission in advance, you may not be permitted to test, may be required to relinquish the item, may be investigated for irregular behavior, and/or may have your score held until you provide adequate documentation from your medical professional.
Attn: SPEX - Special Exam Services
Federation of State Medical Boards
400 Fuller Wiser Road, Suite 300
Euless, TX 76039
Admission to the Exam You should arrive at the test center at least 30 minutes before your scheduled testing time. If you arrive late, you may not be admitted. If you arrive more than 30 minutes after the scheduled testing time, you will not be admitted. The identity of each examinee is verified before admission to the examination room. Upon arrival, you must present your SPEX Scheduling Permit and an unexpired, government-issued identification form that includes both your photograph and your signature. If you do not bring your Scheduling Permit and acceptable identification, you will not be admitted to the test. You must also sign a test center log; be photographed; and store any personal belongings in an assigned locker. Test center staff will collect your Scheduling Permit, which will be retained at the Test Center Administrator's station.
Acceptable forms of identification include: passport; driver's license with photograph; national identity card; and other forms of unexpired, government-issued identification. Your name as it appears on the SPEX Scheduling Permit must match the name on the form(s) of identification exactly. If the name listed on the Scheduling Permit is not correct or does not match the form(s) of identification, contact the FSMB immediately at (817) 868-4041 or spex@fsmb.org.
If you are not admitted to the test, you must pay a fee to Prometric to reschedule the test. The rescheduled date must fall within your assigned eligibility period.
Personal Belongings You are not permitted to bring personal belongings (e.g., calculators, electronic pagers, watches of any type, cellular telephones, food, wallets, and coats) into the testing area. Such items must be stored in a designated locker or storage cubicle outside the secure testing area. Reference materials, i.e., books, notes, papers, or other sources, may not be consulted. Unauthorized possession of personal belongings while in the secure areas of the testing centers may lead to a finding of irregular behavior and permanent annotation of your SPEX score history and any transcripts. Please refer to the SPEX Information Bulletin for a more detailed list of unauthorized items.
Personal belongings and their contents may be inspected. Any materials that reasonably appear to be reproductions of any SPEX examination materials will be confiscated. Making notes of any kind during the examination, except on the materials provided by the test center for this purpose, is not permitted. Removal of those materials from the secure testing area is prohibited.
Taking the Exam The SPEX consists of three separately timed components - a pre-exam tutorial, the examination, and a post-exam survey. The tutorial and survey are optional. The tutorial contains sample SPEX items and allows you to become familiar with the computer, the layout of the screens, the function of the mouse and keyboard, and methods to access different screens (e.g., Drugs Names, Laboratory Values). The survey is provided at the end of the examination, if time is available.
The examination itself is divided into seven blocks of 64 minutes each (48 questions in each block). Timing for each section of SPEX is computer-controlled; a "Time Remaining" box is displayed on the computer screen. You should try to answer every test item as there is no penalty for guessing. If you leave the test center before completing the exam, the administration will be considered incomplete. An incomplete or partial administration may affect reexamination procedures. Once a block is exited, you will not be allowed to return to that block. The test session ends when all blocks have been completed (or the total time for the test expires).
Break Time Forty-five minutes of the total testing time for the SPEX is allotted for break time, which can be divided in any manner you prefer. If a block of the test or tutorial section is completed early, the remaining time will be available for breaks; it will not be available to complete other test blocks. You should monitor how many blocks are remaining and how much break time is remaining as you progress through the test. If you take too much break time and exceed the allocated or accumulated break time, your time to complete the last block(s) in the testing session will be reduced.
