Health and Safety Protocols for the conduct of the Physician Licensure Exam (PLE)

MANILA, Philippines – The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) through Board of Medicine Resolution No. 17 series of 2020 has released the list of health and safety protocols for examinees and examination personnel for the continuation of the March 2020 Medical Doctor or Physician Licensure Exam (PLE) and qualifying assessment for foreign medical professionals. Room assignments are now available here.

PRC said that the conduct of the Part II of the March 2020 PLE was due to the urgent need of the country of medical doctors to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

The continuation of PLE will be held on September 20 and 21, 2020 at the cities of Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Legazpi, Lucena, Tacloban, Tuguegarao and Zamboanga.

HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS FOR EXAMINEES AND PERSONNEL

Here are the rules to follow, as per the Commission:

  1. Observe physical distancing of two (2) meters between examinees. Examinees shall be restricted to their assigned seat.
  2. Require wearing of facemask (at least 3-ply surgical mask, preferably N95 mask) and face shield.
  3. Require to bring 70% ethyl alcohol for hand disinfection.
  4. Submit duly accomplished informed consent (Annex A1) and health declaration (Annex A2) forms with the Notice of Admission (NOA) to the proctor immediately. 
  5. Follow Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction RT-PCR Testing and Quarantine Protocol.
    • A. Mandatory on the examinees who fall under the following groups according to Department of Health Memorandum 2020-258A or the Updated Interim Guidelines on Expanded Testing for COVID-19:
      • suspect cases; or
      • individuals with relevant history of travel and exposure (or contact), whether symptomatic or asymptomatic; and
      • health care workers with possible exposure, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic.
    • The following exposures should have happened two (2) days before or within 14 days from onset of symptoms of a confirmed or probable case:
      • Face-to-face contact with a confirmed case within 1 meter and for more than 15 minutes;
      • Direct physical contact with a confirmed case;
      • Direct care for a patient with probable or confirmed COVID-l9 disease without using proper personal protective equipment.
    • In this case, the examinee shall be required to submit the results of his/her RT-PCR. Only those with negative results shall be allowed to take the examination.
    • B. If an examinee does not fall on the above mentioned conditions, he/she (both for PLE and QA-FMP) should undergo a 14-quarantine day period wherein individuals asymptomatic for at least 14 days prior to the scheduled examination dates provided that they have had no close contact exposures to the aforementioned cases shall be allowed to take the exam in the absence of an RT-PCR test. A Certificate of Quarantine or its equivalent signed by the accredited licensed physician or duly authorized local officials should be submitted instead.
    • C. Examinees coming from other countries should be able to quarantine for at least 2 weeks or provide a negative RT-PCR test result.
  6. Bring your own meals (preferably pre-packed meal/snack and drink) to be eaten during breaks, while being in their assigned seats.
    • Windows will be opened to improve ventilation during breaks.
    • Note: Facemasks will only be removed when taking meals or drinks.
  7. No talking and loitering in the hallways or in the examination room.
  8. Bring your own ball pens, pencils, and erasers. Borrowing from seatmate is not allowed to prevent cross-contamination.
  9. Decreasing the queuing time at the entrance gate:
    • Queuing will be staggered as indicated in the NOA.
    • Examinees will be given time slot to queue in front of the gate (indicated in the NOA).
      • Batch 1= 6:00 – 6:35 am
      • Batch 2= 6:30 – 7:00 am
      • Examinees will be instructed to proceed to the room assignment after screening at the entrance gate.
      • As soon as the exam is finished, examinees will be instructed to leave the premises through the designated exit gate.

HEALTH AND SAFETY PROTOCOLS IN THE TESTING VENUES
  1. Foot bath with 10% Chlorine solution.
  2. Temperature scan
    • Examinee with temperature of less than or equal to 37.5 degrees Celsius (≤37.5◦C) will be allowed entrance into the testing venue.
    • Examinee with temperature of more than 37.5 degrees Celsius (>37.5◦C) will be referred to the Floor Supervisor who shall refer the concerned examinee to an onsite medical doctor for assessment. Examinee will not be allowed to take the rest of the PLE.
  3. Seventy percent (70%) isopropyl or ethyl alcohol rub shall be used for hand disinfection.
  4. Hand soap or 70% ethyl or isopropyl alcohol shall be provided in all comfort rooms.
  5. Proper observance of social distancing (at least two meters).
  6. Thorough cleaning and disinfection of the venue prior and after the examination.
  7. During breaks, examinees will be restricted to their assigned seat and windows will be opened for proper ventilation.
ROOM ASSIGNMENT
PRC is expected to release the room assignments for the continuation of March 2020 PLE few weeks before the licensure exams.
EXAMINATION REMINDERS

As posted by PRC, examinees shall bring the following requirements on examination proper.

  • Notice of Admission (NOA), 
  • Official Receipt, 
  • Two (2) or more pencils No. 2, 
  • Ball pens with black ink only, 
  • One (1) piece long brown envelope
  • One (1) piece transparent/plastic envelope (for keeping your valuables and other allowed items)

PRC reminds examinees to report before 6:30 in the morning on the said date because late comers will not be admitted, examination fees for late examinees will also be forfeited.

Examinees are advised to verify their application number on the day of examination from room watchers/proctors assigned to the room.

DRESS CODE

Examinees shall adhere to the attire set by the Professional Regulation Commission. Examinees are required to wear their school uniform.

PROHIBITED ITEMS

Take note of the following prohibitions during the exams.

  • Books, notes, review materials and other printed materials containing coded information, data and formula;
  • Calculators which are programmable or with embedded functions especially CASIO FX991ES and CASIO FX991ES Plus;
  • Apple, Samsung and other smart watches, cellular phones, ear plugs, transmitters, portable computers, bluetooth and other electronic gadgets/deviceswhich may be used for communication purposes;
  • Bags of any kind are not allowed;

Likewise, PRC will not be responsible for any prohibited items which will be lost during the exams.

COVERAGE OF EXAMS

The Part 2 of the March 2020 Medicine/ Physician licensure exams covered topics from Pharmacology and Therapeutics; Surgery and Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology and Rhinology; Medicine; Obstetrics and Gynecology; Pediatrics and Nutrition and Preventive Medicine and Public Health.


UPDATES

You may also want to view the full text of Resolution No. 17 here.

For concerns, you may also reach them at below email addresses:

To receive regular updates about March/September 2020 PLE as well as other related announcements, we advise our visitors to bookmark this page, visit PRC official website, follow us at our social media pages via Facebook and Twitter or join the members discussions at our Facebook Group.

1 comment… add one
  • Anonymous Sep 16, 2020 @ 7:26

    to prc: ma inquire la ako kon ano updated hin licenture exam for teacher waray man ma view for tacloban schedule

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *