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The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), a prerequisite for admission to US medical schools, currently consists of four sections: physical sciences, verbal reasoning, a writing sample, and biologic sciences. A 2004 Institute of Medicine report on “Improving Medical Education” and several years of evaluation identified a need to redesign the MCAT to better reflect physicians’ current challenges. Beginning in 2015, the test will include a section on behavioral and social sciences, and a section on critical analysis and reasoning will replace the writing sample. These revisions reflect the recognition that behavioral and social factors not only play major roles in health and illness, but also interact with biologic factors to influence health outcomes. Fundamental knowledge about behavioral and social sciences is critical to the effective practice of medicine.

The new subtest entitled “Psychological, Social, and Biological …