Ministry of Health Kingdom of Bahrain Office of Licensing - PDF

							         Ministry of Health
        Kingdom of Bahrain
Office of Licensing and Registration




 Bahrain Medical Licensure Exam
  (BMLE) Rules and Regulations




      Revised in August 2006
Introduction
The Bahrain Medical Licensure Examination (BMLE) is considered to be
the first step for licensing of the graduated Bahraini physicians to practice
medical specialty in the Ministry of Health and other governmental and
non-governmental health services in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The exam
consists of written and clinical parts. The BMLE is conducted by the
office of Licensing and Registration of the Ministry of Health in
coordination with the Departments of Secondary and Primary Medical
Education.

Purpose of BMLE
The BMLE is process aims at evaluating the medical graduates' ability to
apply knowledge, concepts and principles and to demonstrate essential
skills of patient care that is important for safe medical practice. It is an
essential part but not alone as requirement to practice medicine in the
Kingdom and it is the responsibility of the Office of Licensing and
Registration to utilize the result of this examination for licensing.

Examination committee
The Examination committee consists of Consultants from the Ministry of
Health specialized in medical education and representing major disciplines
in primary and secondary healthcare.

Examination content:
The BMLE consists of two components:

1.    Written component:

      The written component constitute of two papers:

      Paper 1 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs):

      It consists of 100 questions. It is an objective-based evaluation and it
      is designed to assess width of knowledge. It is also used to assess
      recall of factual knowledge and solving clinical problems in medical
      practice. Each MCQ question starts with a stem which is followed
      by 4-5 responses only one of which is correct.
      Paper 2 Patient Management Problems (PMPs)

      Consists of 10–15 PMPs in the form of multiple choice question.
      This paper is used to assess clinical reasoning skills and ability to
      solve clinical problems encountered in clinical practice. Each
      problem is presented with a clinical scenario; each scenario includes
      the patient presenting symptoms, some background data and
      information about the patient. Each scenario is followed by 3 – 5
      questions.

The approximate distribution of score in written examinations for both
papers is:

Internal medicine               25 %
Surgery                         20 %
Pediatrics                      20 %
Obs&Gyn                         15 %
Family Medicine                 10 %
Miscellaneous                   10 %
(Eye, ENT, Skin, Psychiatry)

2.    Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)
      This exam constituted of 20 various clinical stations including
      simulated patients, ECG, dummies, slides, photos, laboratory
      reports, radiographs, etc…

      Domains tested in the OSCE:

      Application of knowledge
      Ability in history taking
      Efficiency in conducting physical examination
      Problem solving
      Ability in data and lab interpretations
      Management skills
      Dealing with medical emergencies.


Dates of BMLE
BMLE is held twice a year and candidates are instructed to contact BMLE
office to inquire about exact date and time of BMLE.
Day of the exam:
Candidates are expected to arrive to the exam hall at least 30 minutes
before the exam time. Candidates arrive to the exam hall after 30 minutes
will not be allowed to sit the exam. An I.D card must be presented before
admission to exam hall.

Place of the exam:
Written and OSCE exams are usually held in the AGU or Ministry of
Health premises and that will be announced to the candidates prior to the
exam date.

Eligibility:
The candidate must fulfill the following criteria:

1.    Bahraini nationality and those exempted by the rules of the
      Ministry of Health and Civil Service Bureau of the Kingdom of
      Bahrain.
2.    Original certificate of graduation from medical school, which is
      accredited and approved by Ministry of Education in the Kingdom,
      a copy will be taken at the office.
3.    Certificate of internship completion or a written letter stating that
      the candidate completed 12 months internship.


Registration:
The registration process is as follow:

1.    Applicant must fill the application form and submit it to the office
      of registration and licensing.
2.    Attach a copy of the receipt of the payment of the required fees.

The registration deadline is one week before the exam date.

Exam Fees
The exam fee is BD 20 and should be paid at SMC cashier or at the
Directorate of Finance in the Ministry of Health. The fees are non-
referable and are subject to change without prior under the guideline of
the Ministry of Health.
Preparation for BMLE:
There are no specific books for BMLE and the candidate is instructed to
read from standard textbooks and examination preparation books which
are available in medical libraries, and to concentrate on clinical practice.
No specific books are recommended. Candidates are also encouraged to
attend the BMLE workshop which is conducted by the Bahrain Medical
Society in co-ordination with the medical education in the Ministry of
Health.

Exam conduct:
Candidates must follow the below instructions:

1.    Arrive to the exam hall 30 minutes prior to the exam.
2.    Candidate will not be allowed to sit the exam after 30 minutes of the
      start time.
3.    Textbooks, notes, mobile telephones, PDA, cameras, pagers are not
      allowed in the exam.
4.    Candidates must carry with them CPR or other identification.
5.    Side talk is not allowed between the candidates during the exam.
6.    Upon completion of the test, candidate must return answer sheet
      and question papers to the exam observers.
7.    Any violation of above regulation, may lead to candidate
      withdrawal from the exam and the behavior will be reported to
      licensure office for necessary action.

Scoring and Result Notification:
The scoring of written paper (MCQs) is done by the computer and all
questions are given equivalent credit point. The OSCE marking is done by
a panel of examiners. The written exam carries 60% of the total and the
OSCE is 40 %. Candidates should score 50 % or above in the written
exam to be eligible to sit for the OSCE. The final passing score is the
cumulative of 60 % or above from both written and OSCE examinations.
The final result of exam is usually notified on the notice board of BMLE
office.

Score recheck guidelines:
when a candidate wish to appeal in the written exam or OSCE or the final
result, he/she should submit a written letter and attach it with a copy of
the receipt of the required fee (BD 20) to the Office of Licensing and
Registration within 3 days of the result of each part the written or the
OSCE or the final score.