Will graduates of U.S. medical schools also have to take this test?

Not if the AMA has anything to do with it. The AMA recently threatened at its annual meeting that it would use any means to block implementation of the test, including legal action.

The test would be given in only a handful of locations across the country and would cost a thousand dollar, which the AMA says would impose an undue logistical and financial hardship on medical students, many of whom already are in debt.

In the proposed test, physicians in training would have to perform consultations with examiners posing as patients. Physicians would be graded on how well they communicate in English and whether they elicit a competent history and come to a reasonable diagnosis based on the patient's complaints.

The number of IMGs applying to the annual Resident Match has dropped considerably since the Clinical Skills Assessment Test was imposed.