The purpose of this site is informational. You can learn about:

• the mission of the National Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners (NBPME);
• the purpose of the examinations;
• registration;
• test center regulations
• preparation for the examinations
• practice tests; and
• Part I and II tutorial.

Registration, test center regulations, preparation for the examinations and many more details are available in the Candidate Bulletins which can be downloaded from this site. In addition, Part I, Part II and Part III registration forms, Part I and Part II practice tests and an example of the Part I and II tutorial are available. Please select the "Downloads" link under "Exams" for further details.

Altered Score Reports a Serious Concern

As participation in residency programs becomes a more important step toward licensed practice, the NBPME is concerned because of multiple incidents where persons provided their residency programs with fraudulent reports of APMLE scores. In each instance, the NBPME has imposed heavy sanctions because those who rely on score reports must have full confidence in the integrity of the process. Further, all residency directors have been asked not to accept any score report unless it is provided directly by a verifiable primary source, such as the NBPME or the CAPSR program of AACPM. President Benton declared the Board’s intention to react swiftly and meaningfully to any detected instance of altering an official score report document. 

Clinical Skills Patient Encounter Pilot

The recently concluded pilot examination provided important information toward the design and implementation of a new component of the Part II Clinical Skills examination. Fourth-year students from all schools with eligible candidates participated. Charles Lombardi, DPM, Chair of the CSPE Feasibility Committee said he was gratified by the broad participation from the various colleges.

The NBPME Board received a preliminary report at its March meeting. At this time, a second pilot examination to further substantiate the test format and to refine the case presentations is anticipated for the 2013 class. Timing of the second pilot and when to implement a live examination will be discussed at a meeting with deans of the schools to be held in May.

New Test Sequence Policy

The NBPME will, beginning on January 1, 2010, NOT allow any podiatric medical student or candidate to take Part II unless he or she has taken and successfully completed (with a passing score) Part I. Likewise, we will NOT allow any candidate to take Part III unless he/she has successfully completed and passed Part I and II. We will mandate that the tests be taken sequentially and passed before the candidate continues on to the next part. The goal of this new policy is to require students to demonstrate mastery of basic knowledge before advancing into clinical knowledge and skills assessment, since each test part assumes that prior knowledge has been achieved.

The NBPME's new test sequence policy shall not apply to or affect candidates who have taken any NBPME exam (whether Part I, Part II or Part III) prior to January 1, 2010. If you did take any exam prior to January 1, 2010, regardless of the sequence, you must still pass Parts I and II before applying for Part III.

Audit Panel Report of the July 2003 & 2004 NBPME Part I Examination

The Independent Audit of the July 2003 & 2004 Part I Examination has been completed. The report is available at this site by selecting the "Downloads" link under "Exams".