USMLE

About United States Medical Licensing Examination

United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a professional examination which occurs in different part. USMLE is sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examination (NBME). This examination is meant for the physicians who are having an MD degree and want to practice medicine in the United States of America. In the below stanzas, you will learn about the complete requirements related to the USMLE of the physicians with D.O. Degree.

For this, a physician must possess the MD degree before being a physician. This is an essential eligibility criteria that supports the physician to practice medicine in the United States of America without any restrictions. The Graduates from US Osteopathic Medical School are permitted to appear in the USMLE for medical license. However, they have an alternate option too. They can also access to the medical license through appearing and passing the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMPEX) professional exam.

Those who want to practice their career in medicine in the United States of America, must pass all the three parts in order to get license for their practice. No matter how well you performed in your medical exam, or how high your position is, you must have to appear in this exam. Otherwise, you wont get the license.

Pass rates of the examinee for the first time

The pass rates of the applicants for the first time are:

• 94% for U.S.M.D. Medical School Graduates
• 89% for U.S.D.O. Osteopathic Medical School Graduates
• 73% for international school Graduates

The pass rate for the step 2 CK for the first time:

• 97% for U.S.M.D. Medical School Graduates
• 93% for U.S.D.O. Medical School Graduates

The pass rate for the step 2 CS for the first time:

• 98% for U.S.M.D. Medical School Graduates
• 88% for U.S.D.O. Medical School Graduates

The overall pass rates in Step-3 of the applicants for the first time are:

• 97% for U.S.M.D. Medical School Graduates
• 94% for U.S.D.O. Medical School Graduates
• 78% for international school Graduates

Note– The U.S.M.D. medical college Graduates also includes graduates of Canadian M.D. programs.

The USMLE were taken in paper previously. Afterwards, the mode changed and is taken via computer based multiple- choice pattern. The exams are taken at the parametric test centres worldwide. However, the Step 2 CS and CK held only in USA.

Step 1

This is the part of the USMLE. Step 1 gives the idea about the medical school graduates or students’ knowledge regarding the fundamental concepts of science. These concepts are related to the practice of medicine. Generally, students take Step 1 during the end of the second year of the medical school. However, Graduates from international medical colleges can also proceed for Step 1, if they want to practice medicine in the USA.

Step 2 CS

Step 2 emphasizes on the practical knowledge of the medical students and is categorized into two separate sections of examination:

1) Step 2— CK (Clinical Knowledge)

This step comes under the second part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. It is a nine hours long exam with multiple choice questions. Literally, this step focus on the clinical application of medical knowledge. It examines and analyses the practical knowledge regarding how you apply medical knowledge, skills, and understandings of clinical science. This determines the student’s ability to provide patient care. However, these practical attempts are done under supervision. As a medical student, you must take this part during the fourth year of the their medical school. The relevant subjects are Medicine, Surgery, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and other such clinical sciences.

2) Step 2— CS (Clinical Skills)

This also comes under the second part of the USMLE and focuses on the clinical skills of the candidates through simulated patient interactions. In this exam, you, as an examiner, have to interact with 12 Standardized Patients (SPs), portrayed by actors, and obtain a complete and clear history and take clinical examination of them. You will be given 15 minutes for each patient’s assessment. After that, 10 extra minutes will be given to prepare the patient note. In this note, you have to mention the findings, initial differential diagnosis list and a list of initial lists. The administration of this part began in 2004. However, this examination occurs in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles only.

Step 3

This is the final step in the series of United States Medical Licensing Examination. Basically, clearing this part is a major terms of the state licensing board. This exam is highly compulsory and it draws the attention towards providing general health care to the patients. Apart from getting medical license to practice as physicians, it is also important for various international medical graduates to acquire H1 Visa. Almost 75% questions of the step 3 USMLE exam is based upon multiple choice questions and 25% are based upon clinical case simulations. The mode of examination is online. You can apply for this examination throughout the year. All you need to do is to register via a state licensing board for this exam. For any sort of further details or queries, you can also visit the official portal of USMLE examination.