The Post-Licensure Assessment System (PLAS) is a joint activity of the NBME and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and was developed to assist medical licensing authorities in assessing physicians who have already been licensed. The PLAS provides:
The PLAS provides comprehensive objective and personalized assessments of physicians for whom there is a question regarding clinical competence.
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The SPEX, administered by computer, is an objective and standardized, cognitive examination of current knowledge requisite for the general, undifferentiated practice of medicine. The examination is intended for physicians who currently hold, or who have previously held, a valid, unrestricted license to practice medicine in a US or Canadian jurisdiction. Appropriate candidates for SPEX include physicians seeking licensure reinstatement or reactivation after some period of professional inactivity, or physicians involved in disciplinary proceedings in which the board determines the need for evaluation. SPEX is also appropriate for physicians applying for licensure by endorsement who are several years beyond initial licensure.
For more information on the SPEX you may visit the FSMB website.
Together, the PLAS programs have assessed hundreds of physicians over the past several years for reasons that range from endorsement of licensure to license reactivation after disciplinary action.