COLPOSCOPY MENTORSHIP PROGRAM EXAMINATION
ASCCP's Colposcopy Mentorship Program (CMP) Examination serves as the final tier of the Society's three-tiered basic colposcopy program. Any individual who has completed a U.S.-accredited residency program, or an ACCME-accredited basic colposcopy course, and a mentorship program (to include 25 supervised, consecutive colposcopy examinations with a minimum of 3 high-grade findings, e.g. HSIL on cytology or CIN 2/3 by biopsy), and submitted all required documentation 30 days prior to the date of the exam, may take the examination. For mentorship documentation requirements, please visit the Mentorship Program Requirements Form..

The cost for the CMP examination is $125.00, which is used to defray the cost of the testing procedure.

The CMP examination is now being offered online. Applicants may register for the exam after receiving a letter from the National Office of their eligibility to sit for the exam. Once the registration form is received, information will be mailed with instructions, user name and password, and verification forms.

COLPOSCOPY RECOGNITION AWARD EXAMINATION
(Exam undergoing revision in 2008.  Unavailable until further notice.)

The Colposcopy Recognition Award (CRA) Examination, first initiated at the March 1992 ASCCP Biennial Meeting, recognizes and honors those individuals who have successfully passed a written and slide examination. This is an advanced-level examination that serves to test expertise in colposcopy of the lower genital tract.

The cost for the CRA examination is $100.00 for ASCCP members, and $260.00 for non-members. The fee for the examination is used to defray the cost of the testing procedure.

The CRA examination is currently undergoing a revision.  It is expected to be released for online use in late 2008-early 2009.

EXAMINATION FORMAT
Both the CMP and CRA examinations feature multiple choice questions and interpretation of digitized colposcopic images. Each examination runs 2 hours in length. Questions may include all matters pertaining to the knowledge and skills used by the clinician in the diagnosis and management of lower genital tract neoplasia and related diseases.

Successful candidates will be recognized with a handsome diploma, special identification on the ASCCP website, and recognition at the Society’s Biennial Meetings.

Those eligible to sit for the examinations may registration for either examination by using the forms provided online, or by mailing or faxing the registration forms to the ASCCP National Office, 152 West Washington Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740. The ASCCP fax number is (301) 733-5775.

Registration fees will not be refunded if the applicant fails to appear for the examination.

RESIDENTS EXAM
The ASCCP has developed an on-line Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) of resident skills in colposcopy that is very easy for residency programs to implement. The test measures residents’ medical knowledge, patient management competencies, and pattern recognition skills as used in colposcopy. In addition, since the test is given on-line, it can be used to assess the systems-based practice competency. Because the exam is national in scope, results of residents’ skills can be compared with others at a comparable level of training. The exam is given annually and serves to track the residents’ progress as they advance in training.

The exam consists of multiple-choice questions, image identification questions, and case studies. It was validated in a 2004 pilot study that included 795 residents from over 52 programs. A subsequent item-by-item analysis of all the questions then allowed for the removal of the less discriminatory items, thus revising and shortening the exam. The new and improved 2005 exam was opened for testing on May 2, 2005.

The exam requires very little effort by the program. The faculty member responsible for the program’s colposcopy education instruction simply logs onto a special ASCCP web site (using a password obtained from ASCCP), answers some questions about the program’s colposcopy curriculum and colposcopy volume, and enters the residents’ names and levels of training. The ASCCP then provides the faculty member with each resident’s unique user name and password to be used to log on and take the exam. The exam time limit is 1 hour and it must be completed in one sitting. The time, location, and the level of supervision for the individual exams are at the discretion of the program director. The exam does not have to be taken by all the residents at the same time and, at the program director’s discretion, it may be taken by the residents from home so it will not interfere with clinical duties and work hour restrictions.

The body of information addressed in the medical knowledge questions should be covered by any residency program that uses a standard colposcopy curriculum (e.g., the definition of a satisfactory colposcopy exam). For the ASCCP's published Comprehensive Colposcopy Curriculum, please visit this webpage. The examination's management questions are based upon the Consensus Algorithms for the Management of Women with Abnormal Cervical Cancer Screening Tests and the Management of Women with Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia or Adenocarcinoma in-situ, as well as a basic knowledge of the literature (e.g., what to do for a two quadrant HSIL lesion on a satisfactory colposcopy exam). For the current exam, the 2006 Guidelines are in use. Pattern recognition questions are standard and reflective of images found in colposcopy atlases and CD-ROMs.

Individual scores are reported as a percentile score compared with all of the other residents taking the exam and by the resident’s level of training. The program director will receive a results form for each resident that provides a total score, a medical knowledge score, a patient management score, and a pattern recognition score.

The bulk fees are as follows: 1-5 residents, $75 (total payment, not per resident); 6-10, $150; 11-15, $225; 16-20, $300; 21-25 $375; 26-30, $450; 31-35 $525; and, 36+ $600.

If you are a program director wishing to sign up for the exam, please send an email to Ms. Debbie McClain. To access the residents’ exam program director or residents’ login pages, click here.