Some College and Graduate Entrance Exams Going Online

 

Taking the SAT college entrance exam is an anxiety-producing process under any circumstances. Pre-Covid, you prepared by taking a study course (maybe) and some practice exams (hopefully). Then you sharpened a lot of pencils and put your calculator in a drawer. You (or a parent) drove you (and your pencils, no calculator) to the testing center, where you sat for three hours taking the exam. Then you waited weeks to get your results.

 

Starting in 2023 (for international students) and 2024 (for US students), that’s all going to change. First, ditch the pencils and bring the calculator. It is unclear to me whether you’ll have to go to a test center to take the digital SAT or whether you’ll be able to take it at home using your own computer (meaning your driver can make other plans). Finally, you (the test-taker) will be taking a two-hour exam. And the results will be available to you in a matter of days. The SAT is going online permanently. Despite shortening the exam by one hour, test developers say that students will have more time to answer each question. And the questions have been reworked to be more relevant to a cross-section of diverse students.

 

One big question about the change in testing protocol is whether it encourages or enables cheating. The developers of the online SAT assert the exact opposite. “With the current paper and pencil SAT, if one test form is compromised it can mean canceling administrations or canceling scores for a whole group of students,” reads the press release. “Going digital allows every student to receive a unique test form, so it will be practically impossible to share answers.”

 

So, are other entrance exams going online as well?  During Covid, yes and no. 

·      The ACT (an alternative college entrance exam) is taken online, but you need to go to a test center on a date certain to take it. The next test date is April 2, 2022.

·      The LSAT (entrance exam for law school) has two parts: the multiple choice portion is currently administered in an online, live remote-proctored format; the essay portion is administered online using secure proctoring software on the candidate’s own computer. The LSAT is administered in a test facility on a date certain. The next test date is March 11, 2022.

·      A student can opt to take the GRE (entrance exam for business schools and some other masters level programs) online anywhere, rather than at a test center. The online test is available 24/7, and is monitored by a human proctor online through ProctorU.

·      The MCAT (entrance exam for medical school) continues to be offered in-person only. The MCAT is offered at designated test centers generally twice a month.

 

Guess we’ll see whether the practice of offering some entrance exams online expands to continue post-Covid.

 

Telemedicine has become part of traditional medical practice

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about (and experiencing) telemedicine recently, and then learned that one pioneer of telemedicine recently died.  In 1986, Dr. Ronald Weinstein, then located in Washington DC,  viewed a breast tissue sample that was in a microscope located in El Paso TX. Through his long-distance examination, he was able to conclude that the woman, also located in El Paso, had breast cancer that was spreading. Using an early version of the internet, Dr. Weinstein was able to remotely operate the microscope and view the enlarged images of tumorous cells. This process was from then on referred to as “telepathology”.

 

Telepathology has blossomed since then, with many pathologists working from home long before Covid encouraged many sectors to move to remote work. Telemedicine, a term I will use to refer to a patient and medical provider interacting without an in-person visit, has also come to be used widely long before Covid. In rural areas, especially, doctors and physicians assistants and nurse practitioners have long been handling many routine medical matters via telephone and video chats. One example is the Arizona Telemedicine Program that Dr. Ronald Weinstein founded and directed for 25 years.

 

Fast forward to March 2020 and the onset of the Covid pandemic. Telemedicine (sometimes referred to as “telehealth”) became a necessity in all communities to insure the safety of all involved. According to a recent survey, 90% of the health care providers in my medical network (University of Utah Health) provide some form of telemedicine services since Covid, compared to only 10% who did so prior to Covid. The professors conducting the survey also predict that the possibilities for telemedicine will only increase, as more wearable medical devices (think taking your EKG using your smartphone or watch) and self-testing protocols (think Covid home tests) are developed and come to market.

 

As of now, Medicare and other insurance companies provide coverage for telemedicine. This article suggests that improvements to insurance coverage are possible, but in general, lack of insurance coverage is not a current barrier to telemedicine use.

 

So, is telemedicine part of the medical school curriculum? I’m sure the technical aspects of the practice are. Pathologists undoubtedly learn about telepathology (remote reading of test results) in school. Some nurse training programs are including courses on the unique communication skills needed to have successful telehealth sessions.

 

But we also need fine minds focused on expanding the possibilities for the use of telemedicine. The University of Utah piloted such a course last semester, and plans to offer it annually as a full semester course and as a summer three-day intensive. It is a multi-disciplinary approach that covers the legal, ethical, service delivery and financial aspects of telehealth services. Students in the course are encouraged to think creatively about how the use of telemedicine can be expanded and further supported. Not surprisingly, this course is taught through IVC (interactive video classes).

 

All to say that telemedicine is here to stay. As with other virtual processes (think zoom meetings), the Covid pandemic has created the opportunity for expansion of telemedicine practices, and forced medical practitioners and patients alike to become comfortable with its use.