[Part 2] All the details you need about the USMLE Steps 1, 2, and 3
USMLE STEP 2
Usually taken in the fourth year of medical school, the USMLE Step 2 is a two-part exam. It is intended to assess a medical student’s capacity to use their clinical science knowledge, skills, and understanding in the provision of patient care while under supervision, with an emphasis on health promotion and illness prevention. Specifically, Step 2 consists of two exams:
Step 1: Clinical Knowledge (CK)
The first USMLE Step 2 exam is termed Clinical Knowledge, or CK, and consists of multiple-choice questions on clinical sciences such as gynaecology, internal medicine, obstetrics, paediatrics, and surgery. Additionally, subjects linked to numerous organ systems that are classified into physiological and pathological processes are covered.
It takes nine hours to complete the CK exam, which is broken up into eight blocks of 60 minutes each. The number of questions in each block will not be more than 40, though it may vary. Only 318 multiple-choice questions will be included in the entire exam.
Step 2: Clinical Skills (CS)
The second USMLE Step 2 exam, known as Clinical Skills or CS, challenges candidates to diagnose actors who are posing as patients, gather data, conduct physical examinations, and present their findings to patients and colleagues. It covers material similar to that of CK but is delivered in a practical manner.
For the Step 2 CS exam, students must travel to one of only five testing centers, which are located in Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and Los Angeles.
Success Rate
For the Step 1 CK exam, test-takers earn a three-digit score ranging from 1 to 300, just like in Step 1. The current passing mark is 209.
For now, there is no specific numerical passing score for Step 2 CS tests. Instead, a pass or fail grade is assigned to each of the three sub-components of the course. These sub-components are Integrated Clinical Experience (ICE), Spoken English Proficiency (SEP), and Communication and Interpersonal Skills (CIS) (ICE). To pass the USMLE Step 2 CS, you must pass each of the three sections.
USMLE STEP 3
The USMLE Step 3 is a two-day test usually taken after a physician’s first year of residency. It is the last step in determining if someone with a medical degree is prepared to practise general medicine independently. Step 3’s emphasis on patient management, including diagnosis, treatment, and care, is similar to that of Step 2.
Step 3, Day 1
The first exam day is dedicated to Foundations of Independent Practice (FIP), which focuses on the medical and scientific ideas necessary for providing quality healthcare. Applications of foundational sciences, social science applications, such as communication and interpersonal skills, medical ethics, systems-based practise, and patient safety, as well as an understanding of biostatistics, epidemiology/population health, and the interpretation of medical literature, are all covered.
232 multiple-choice questions are spread out throughout six blocks of 60 minutes each on the USMLE Step 3 Day 1 exams. The test is 7 hours long overall, including a 5-minute optional tutorial and a 45-minute break.
Step 3, Day 2
On test day 2, advanced clinical medicine (ACM) is covered. This test day is focused on evaluating the medical resident’s capacity to use their knowledge of health and disease and how they have evolved to manage and care for patients. Assessment of diagnosis and treatment, health maintenance and screening, prognosis and outcome, medicine, and medical decision-making are among the subjects covered.
Tests with 180 multiple-choice questions are broken up into six blocks of 45 minutes each. A 7-minute computer-based case simulation (CCS) instruction is also included on this test day. Following this are 13 case simulations, each of which is given a maximum of 10 or 20 minutes.
Success Rate
Test takers for the Step 3 exam earn a three-digit score, ranging from 1 to 300, just like with Step 1 and Step 2 CK. The threshold for passing Step 3 was increased from 196 to 198 on January 1, 2020.
