One-Year Refresher Course for Physician Exam Failures

Section 21, Article III of Republic Act No. 2382 (the Medical Act of 1959, as amended) requires that a candidate who fails for the third time in the complete or final examinations must take a refresher course prescribed by the Board of Medicine of at least one (1) year in a recognized medical school or college before taking subsequent examinations.
The Board of Medicine recognizes that Board Resolution No. 153, Series of 1990 previously provided for a refresher course but was implemented in practice through an institution that was not a recognized school or college of medicine.
Board Resolution No. 153, Series of 1990 is repealed by this resolution.
This resolution repeals or modifies accordingly all other resolutions and rules and regulations that are inconsistent with its provisions.

The Board of Medicine adopts new guidelines to implement the one-year refresher course required for examinees who fail three (3) times in physician licensure examinations.
The guidelines are designed to ensure the refresher course is administered only in recognized schools or colleges of medicine.
The Board of Medicine issues these guidelines after consultations with the deans of various schools and colleges of medicine.

Examinees who failed three (3) times in physician licensure examinations and meet the grade-failure criteria in subsequent examinations must take a refresher course in the specific subject or subjects where they failed.
Examinees who failed three (3) times in physician licensure examinations but achieved passing grades three times in any subject or subjects in the three complete or final examinations are not required to enroll in those subject(s).
Deans of recognized schools or colleges of medicine must accommodate enrollment for examinees who fall under the enrollment requirement category.
A three-time examinee required to take the refresher course must submit specific enrollment guidance materials to the registrar for subject placement.

Examinees who failed three (3) times in physician licensure examinations and obtained a failing grade or grades in any subject or subjects in three complete or final examinations must enroll in the subject or subjects where they failed in a recognized medical school or college.
Examinees who failed three (3) times in physician licensure examinations but obtained passing grades three times in any subject or subjects in three complete or final examinations are not required to enroll in those subject(s).
For enrollment purposes, the examinee must submit reports of ratings from the three (3) licensure examinations taken for guidance of the registrar in determining the subjects the examinee must enroll in.
The Board requires registrars to submit to the deans a list of refresher-course enrollees indicating the subjects for which each enrollee is enrolled.

The refresher course enrollment is administered for at least one (1) year in a recognized medical school or college, as required by Section 21, Article III of Republic Act No. 2382.
The refresher enrollee is exempted from laboratory work/study in the basic subject if the laboratory work/study is a component of the subject where the refresher enrollee is enrolled.
Deans must ensure that refresher-course enrollment follows the subject assignments determined through the examinee’s rating reports.

After the refresher enrollees complete the one-year refresher course, the dean must issue a certification stating that, based on performance and attendance reports submitted by the professors of the subjects enrolled in, the refresher enrollees have satisfactorily completed the one-year refresher course.
The dean’s certification must be issued with the seal of the office affixed and serves as the basis of the Board in allowing a three-time examinee to take the physician licensure examination.
The dean must not include a refresher enrollee in the certification if the professor’s attendance report shows aggregate absences of 20% or more of the required total number of hours of attendance in the subject(s) where the three-time flunker is enrolled.

Copies of the resolution must be given to all schools, colleges, and universities offering course in medicine for compliance and for dissemination to their graduates.