We would like to request ABPMR to eliminate Part II oral board exam due to the following reasons:

Currently, advanced care providers including PAs and NPs are able to practice without taking any ABPMR board exam.

PM&R is one of the few remaining specialties that continues to administer oral boards besides written boards.

Similar to the elimination of USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills examination, we believe that a 10-20 minute standardized patient encounter examination format does not accurately simulate a real-life encounter and the scoring is very subjective.

Throughout our PM&R residency, we have accumulated enough knowledge and clinical skills to practice. Part I written board exam is sufficient to evaluate our competency. Part II exam causes undue stress, is laborious and expensive for fellows and early career physiatrists.

So we urge ABPMR to eliminate part II oral board permanently.