ABOUT NBME

NBME is a mission-driven organization that specializes in the creation of high-quality assessments and learning tools.

Our Mission

Protecting the Health of the Public through State of the Art Assessment

At NBME, we are passionate about our mission to protect the health of the public through state of the art assessment of health professionals. While centered on assessment of physicians, this mission encompasses the spectrum of health professionals along the continuum of education, training and practice and includes research in evaluation as well as development of assessment instruments.

Female doctor showing older male patient something on iPad

Our Vision

Improving Health Care around the World through Assessment

Through the creation of effective assessment and learning tools for health professionals, we hope to improve the quality of care for patients around the world.

Our Values

At NBME, our values form the foundation for our work to support the medical education community and include the following:

The elimination of bias and stereotypes from our assessments with the recognition that more can be done.
Close collaboration with the medical education community to meet assessment needs, measuring examinees’ skills, knowledge and behaviors.
Accountability to speak out and inspire others to act against discrimination, racism and hate and to effect lasting change.
Fairness in assessment in medical education and throughout the continuum of medical training.
Equitable opportunities for all future and practicing physicians to develop competencies to provide safe and effective care to patients.
Access to quality health care for all patients, most particularly for vulnerable populations that face unequal distribution of resources.

NBME Key Points

In addition to offering assessment tools for every stage of the medical school journey, NBME aims to build meaningful collaborations and make lasting contributions to the medical education community.

Our Capabilities

We evolve to meet the changing needs of the health care community, creating exams with advanced test development strategies, psychometric expertise and insights gained through research.

Our Collaborations

Our assessments are produced in collaboration with educators and practicing physicians who comprise our nationwide faculty—the core component in creating high-quality examinations.

Our Contributions

We work to empower medical educators through our grants, awards and related programs, while providing opportunities for continuous learning in the health care community.

Our History

NBME was founded in 1915 with the two primary goals:

To elevate the standard of qualification for the practice of medicine and surgery
To provide a means for recognition of qualified persons to practice in any state, territory, or dependency of the United States without further examination by their licensing boards

Since that time, we have worked to further advance the assessment of medical education.

View an interactive timeline of our history to learn more.

Timeline of Innovations

NBME Today

Over 100 years later, NBME strives not only to ensure a higher standard of qualification for medical practice, but also to protect the health of the public through state-of-the-art assessment of health professionals.

Under the leadership of our current Board of Directors, we hope to fulfill this mission through continuous improvement and collaboration with medical schools, health profession organizations and members of the public.

Meet Our Board of Directors