Registration
Registration for the BROK® examination takes place via Elevate Health. At the start of the examination, the examination candidates must report to the supervisor with valid proof of identity (passport, driving licence or ID card).
Examination form
The examination is administered via the computer. Candidates may only consult information from the entire eBROK® environment during the examination. The forum may not be used, however. Only other websites directly linked from the eBROK® environment may be consulted during the examination. Every examination consists of 60 questions relating to various activities within human scientific research. It includes multiple choice and multiple select questions.
For the costs of the BROK examination, see the eBROK.
Attainment and Test Targets
The BROK® examination is based on Attainment and Test Targets (ATT). These ATT were drawn up by the BROK® committee, which includes representatives from the Dutch UMCs (BROK coordinators), with the NFU (Netherlands Federation of UMCs) as umbrella organisation. The ATT document is intended to provide insight into the themes and topics on which questions can be asked in the examination.
EMWO has published a modified test matrix on the first of March 2024. The test and attainment levels are now fully up to date.
Click here to see the Attainment and Test Targets for the BROK® examination.
Glossary and Abbreviations
EMWO works with a standard list of terms and abbreviations. These terms can be found in the ETT and the exam questions. The glossary has been compiled by the Editorial Committee and will be supplemented or amended if necessary.
Click here to open the Glossary and Abbreviations.
Time duration
Candidates are given a maximum of two hours (120 minutes) to take the examination.
Demo examination
Look here for an impression of how the examination works.
Questions and score
The examination uses two types of questions: multiple choice questions and multiple response. For every question, a candidate can score a total of 60 points. The score per question the candidate receives is calculated by the test service system. The scoring system that is used takes into account whether or not both correct and incorrect answers are chosen by the candidate. The total number of points scored by the candidate is divided by the maximum number of points possible for the entire examination. This yields a percentage that represents the particular candidate’s score for the examination.
A score of 80% or higher means that the candidate has passed, in the examination committee’s view.
Certificate and register
Successful candidates are sent a certificate. These candidates are also included in the national register on the NFU’s website, unless the candidate has submitted an objection to this per email.
As of 1 January 2020, the qualification based on the BROK® certificate is valid for a period of 3 years.
The BROK® certificate is extended by following the re-registration course at Elevate Health. It is the investigator’s own responsibility to renew the BROK® registration before the expiration date. So no reminder will be sent.
If you do not renew the certificate in time, you must retake the entire course and take the exam in order to remain listed in the BROK® register.
Resit of examination
You can register for a resit of the BROK® examination via the eBROK® environment of Elevate Health.
BROK Examination Regulations
Download the full examination regulations for the BROK examination here.
Complaints and objections
Complaint
In the event of complaints about how the examination took place, contact must be made with EMWO within four (4) days after completion of the examination. Only complaints that have been sent to info@emwo.nl by email will be handled. An appropriate solution will be found in consultation with the location.
Letter of objection
Do you disagree with the assessment of your exam and do you think that adjusting this assessment will ensure that you have passed? You can submit an objection to EMWO within four (4) weeks after the result is announced.
If you have taken an exam via proctoring and you are viewing your result at EMWO in Amersfoort, then your objection must be submitted within two (2) weeks after your appointment.
Submitting a letter of objection involves an administrative fee of €10.00. You can only lodge an objection using the objection form. An objection form will only be handled if there is an unsatisfactory result and the objection meets six conditions:
- The objection is provided with a question ID;
- The objections is specific, so not a general complaint (see ‘Complaint’);
- The objection relates to (part of) one question, for example an answer option;
- The objection does not contain any question(s);
- The objection does not refer to the training material(s).
For questions regarding the training material(s), please contact Elevate Health (servicedesk@elevatehealth.nl) or your BROK® coordinator. - The objection is based on substantive arguments.
You cannot object to the scoring of the questions.
You will receive feedback by email on the objection you submitted. If your objection is declared upheld and your result changes to passed, you will be refunded the administration costs and your result will be amended. If you submit a letter of objection that does not meet the conditions, you will receive a standard response and the administration costs will not be refunded.
Click here to submit your letter of objection.
After receipt of your letter of objection and payment, you will receive an automatically generated confirmation email. You will then receive an email from the EMWO secretary notifying you that your objection will be handled by the editorial committee. When your objection is being handled, the decision will follow by email within six (6) weeks. It is possible that the Editorial Committee needs more time to asses your letter of objection. In that case you will be notified.
During the handling of the letter of objection, you can register for a resit of the particular examination. If you decide to resit the examination before a decision has been taken on the objection submitted, the examination costs will not be refunded if the objection is declared well-founded and you have passed.
Appeal Committee
If the outcome of the objection proves unsatisfactory, there is the possibility for a candidate to, within four (4) weeks, lodge a written appeal. The decision of the NFU’s Central Appeal Committee is binding for both the objector and EMWO.
Appeal in relation to BROK Examination
Candidates for the BROK examination can contact the NFU’s Central Appeal Committee by sending an email to nfu@nfu.nl.
Feedback
If you do not wish to submit an objection (e.g., because amendment of your result if the objection is declared well-founded will not yield a percentage of at least 80% (BROK®)), but you do have feedback on the content of the examination, you can send an email to info@emwo.nl.
Your comments will be documented and assessed by the editorial committee. This may result in an improvement in the examination in future. You will not receive any feedback on this, nor will your result be amended.