European College of Equine Internal Medicine

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Invigilator requirements

ECEIM Assessment Formats

  • General exams (G1 & G2)  3 hours each
    • Single BEST answer
  • Certifying MCQ 3 hours
    • Single BEST answer
  • Objective Case Management 3.5 hours
    • 5 cases; each case is comprised of up to 10 questions (Up to 45 mins allowed for each case) 
    • Uses advanced question formats (candidates have received training on these formats)
  • Clinical judgement test (4 oral examinations)
    • 3 case-based; candidates are required to justify clinical decisions and/or approach
    • 1 research paper; candidates are required to critique a research paper and interpret data.

Roles and Responsibilities of Invigilators 

  • The role of the invigilator is to support academic integrity and the candidates during the ECEIM examinations. Further training will be provided if you agree to invigilate a candidate.
  • The invigilator MUST NOT be the direct residency supervisor or the direct line manager of the exam candidate. Any EBVS Diplomate may act as an invigilator for the candidate; it does not have to be an ECEIM Diplomate. Where a person is asked to fulfil the role of invigilator but has an existing working relationship with the candidate, it is the responsibility of the proposed invigilator to decide if they are able to support academic integrity of the ECEIM examinations, including signing a non-disclosure agreement.
  • The invigilator must read all documentation sent by the Exam Committee or the EBVS Director of Education prior to the day of the exam and be fully aware of their responsibilities, duties and timings relating to the exam. Your responsibilities may include the ability to print high quality images and case material and store them securely, until you are told by the EBVS Director of Education or a member of the Exam Committee that you may give them to the candidates, at the designated time.
  • Please ensure that the examination room is available at least 30 minutes before the start of the examination, and that the candidate will not be disturbed during the examination and there will be no visitors to the room (consider an ‘examination in progress’ sign outside the door).
  • The invigilator will need to bring their own laptop with a camera function, for live video recording during the duration of the online examinations.  
  • The invigilator MUST remain in the room with the candidate at all times; it is NOT appropriate for the invigilator to talk in-person, on the phone or in a meeting with another person during the entire duration of the examination. The only exception to this would be in the event that it is necessary for the invigilator to discuss an urgent issue with the Examination Committee or the EBVS Director of Education. Information regarding toilet breaks or emergency situations is given in the further training.
  • Please ask the candidate to switch off and hand their mobile phone and any smart watch / ear pods / headphones to you before the examination begins. The candidate must not receive their mobile phone, smart watch or other devices, or use their laptop to communicate with any other person (email, What’s App, other instant messaging platforms) until the end of the total time allowed for the examination. This means that if 3 hours are allowed for the examination, but your candidate finishes early, they must not be permitted to communicate with anyone except the invigilator until the end of the 3 hours.

Suitable Examination Venues

  • Any suitable venue that will be quiet, free of interruptions and has adequate and reliable Wi-Fi access and a power socket to charge a laptop (private office in an academic institution, equine hospital, or home).
  • One invigilator can supervise up to two or three candidates doing written, but not oral exams, as long as the invigilator is comfortable that examination security will be maintained. 
  • For oral examinations (CJTs), each candidate must be in an individual room before receiving the case material from the invigilator. It is NOT acceptable for there to be more than one candidate in the same room, either while reading the case material, or during the subsequent oral examination with the exam committee.
  • The Wi-Fi connection must be sufficiently stable and reliable to support a live video link.

On the Day of the Exam

  • Provide / ensure the candidate has access to blank paper to make notes, however please ensure the candidate leaves any written notes in the examination room before they leave.
  • Ensure that any dictionaries brought into the examination room are void of any notes and are strictly language dictionaries; not medical dictionaries.
  • Ask the candidate to switch off and hand you any mobile phone, smart watch, ear pods or headphones until the end of the total time allowed for the exam.
  • Provide examination access codes to the candidate, to allow them to start the exam.
  • Bring a laptop computer with camera function to communicate with the examination supervisor and permit live recording. There will be a direct live video link between the invigilator and the examination supervisor for the duration of the online assessments, using MS Teams.
  • Examination supervisors will remotely monitor all examination rooms to ensure the integrity of the examinations:
    • You will receive an MS Teams meeting invitation link. The examination supervisor will let you into the meeting.
    • Please maintain a live video and audio link during the online assessments. Please do not mute your microphone but please do mute your loudspeakers to avoid disturbing your candidate with noise from another examination room present in the Teams meeting, once the exam starts.
  • Submit an examination conduct report for each candidate detailing any adverse events that occurred during the examination as soon as the examination ends, for consideration by the Examination Committee.

If you are comfortable with the invigilator requirements and available to invigilate a candidate’s examination/s, please ask the candidate to submit an invigilator request form to the Examination Committee. Once the invigilator request has been accepted you will be sent a link to a training module for you to complete and further documentation required for the exam.