FACULTY of Medicine and Surgery students can look forward to a “more objective” oral revalida, or final oral examinations, as the tests will be standardized starting next school year.
“Since the oral revalida is (deemed) ‘subjective’, the (Faculty) wanted to standardize it,” Medicine faculty secretary Dr. Jose Blas told the Varsitarian. “The question for the first student will be similar for the next student, provided they are put in (separate) areas (during the exams) just to prevent communication.”
The oral revalida is a traditional oral defense where graduating medicine students answer a panel of doctors about basic and specialized clinical questions, Faculty officials said. Passing is a major requirement for graduation.
The examinations used to require students to draw from a pool of questions, but a checklist will now be used as reference in questioning to ensure all fields are covered to minimize bias, Blas said.
Further, similar sets of questions will now be used.
“All (past) deans of the Faculty had their own effort in trying to improve (the oral revalida), but the significant change (next year) is that we will make sure that all students are asked the same set of questions,” Medicine Dean Dr. Rolando Lopez said.
Medicine junior Debbie Tan said previous graduates had complained that panelists sometimes ask “very specific” questions that only specialists could answer.
Meanwhile, the Manila Regional Court dismissed a complaint filed by three graduating medicine students that sought the nullification of their revalida grades.
Lopez told the Varsitarian that the court “threw out” the case because it did not have jurisdiction over cases involving the exercise of academic freedom.
It was the first time revalida results were contested before a court of law, Lopez said.
As of press time, senior Medicine students Karen Halasan, Rodolfo Dizon Jr., and Zarah Fernandez could not be reached for comment.
