Announcing the new interim Director of Examinations

OTTAWA, ONTARIO– We are pleased to announce that, on June 14, 2021, Dr. John (Jack) R. Boulet joined the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) as interim Director of Examinations.

Dr. Boulet’s initial responsibilities will be to oversee exam delivery and operations related to the National Assessment Collaboration (NAC) Examination and the Medical Council of Canada Qualifying Examination (MCCQE) Part I.

“With a wealth of assessment experience and as a member of the Assessment Innovation Task Force (AITF), Dr. Boulet is well-positioned to assist the MCC in continuing to deliver these high-stakes exams, which contribute to the stringent national standard against which all Canadian and internationally trained medical candidates are assessed to practise medicine in Canada,” said Dr. Maureen Topps, Executive Director and CEO at the MCC. “The MCC team looks forward to his enthusiasm and insights.”

Dr. Boulet holds a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Western Ontario and both a M.A. and Ph.D. in Education, specializing in measurement and evaluation, from the University of Ottawa. He is a Senior Scholar in the Department of Medical Education, College of Medicine, at the University of Illinois, an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a Fellow of the Society for Simulation in Health care, and a Senior Research Consultant for the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners (NBOME). Dr. Boulet recently retired from the positions of Vice President, Research and Data Resources, for both the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG^®) and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research (FAIMER^®).

Dr. Boulet is the recipient of the 2021 John P. Hubbard Award in recognition of his extensive contributions to the field of assessment in medical education. Over the past 25 years, he has dedicated his time to the development of performance-based credentialing assessments in medicine. He has published extensively in the field of medical education, focusing specifically on measurement issues pertaining to performance-based assessments, including Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) and various mannequin-based evaluation methodologies. In his role with FAIMER, he has also investigated workforce issues, concentrating on the characteristics of international medical education and accreditation programs, the international migration of health care workers, the contribution of International Medical Graduates (IMGs) to the labour force in the United States, and the quality of care provided by IMGs. Dr. Boulet currently serves on the editorial boards for Advances in Health Sciences Education: Theory and Practice, Education for Health, and Simulation in Health care. He is a Deputy Editor for Medical Education.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Boulet and welcoming him to this role at an important time in the history of assessments.