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You’ve finished your medical school education and are now ready to take the USMLE. Congratulations! But it’s not going to be that easy: you need to prepare for this exam. We’re here to help you start your preparation by sharing eight things you wish you knew before taking the USMLE exam.
What is USMLE?
The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a multiple-choice exam offered by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), designed to test your knowledge of medical sciences.
The USMLE is a one-day, 8-hour long test, and it’s comprised of 280 questions broken into seven sections. The score you get on the USMLE directly affects if you match into medical schools and gain access to residency programs.
But before you can even start studying for the exam, you should know a few things.
What is the USMLE Step 1?
What is USMLE Step 1? The USMLE Step 1 (USMLE stands for the United States Medical Licensing Exam) is the first of the United States Medical Licensing Exam stages (also known as ‘the boards’). Physicians with an MD degree are required to pass these exams to practice medicine in the United States.
The Step 1 exam assesses your ability to provide safe and effective patient care. It’s notoriously tricky and often affects your future options for residency. Many experts say there is no detail too small for Step 1.
The USMLE Step 1 exam is a series of tests that test your ability to provide safe and effective patient care. It’s notoriously tricky and often affects your future options for residency. If you want to pursue a career in medicine after high school, you must pass this exam first.
What is a good Step 1 score?
There are multiple components to your Step 1 score that are very important. The mean score you can expect to achieve is 232, while your standard deviation will average 19.66.
This means that each of your test attempts will have a score somewhere in between 211 and 249 on the range, but that two-thirds of your scores will be between 211, and 249 on the range (so nearly all candidates will get an auto pass).
That said, not everyone’s exam results will be within this range and therefore it’s possible for someone else studying for Step 1 to have higher or lower scores than this. So what does this mean?
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When should you take USMLE Step 1?
The best time to take the USMLE Step 1 is a well-seasoned question. Scores are assigned in the context of a cohort of test-taker scores, but the USMLE also uses past cohorts as controls. This means that the idea of strategizing to take the exam during “the time of year that is easiest to score best” is likely invalid.
You should not worry about this issue but rather focus on the optimal time based on your study plan (usually set by your institution’s schedule.
Here are 8 things you should know before taking the USMLE exam :
1 . What is a three-step process for the USMLE exam?
- Step 1: The Medical Knowledge Test – the first step is taken after the second year of medical school.
- Step 2: The Clinical Skills Test (CS) – the second step during your fourth year of training.
- Step 3: The Clinical Knowledge Test (CK) – the third step after graduating from medical school.
2 . How to register for the USMLE exam?
The first step is to register for the test through the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). You can do this online or by calling them as well.
3 . What to do after registration?
Once you’ve registered, you’ll receive an Authorization to Test (ATT) letter that includes instructions on scheduling your exam date and location. You’ll also receive an attachment detailing important information about the computer-based testing system used for these exams, including browser requirements and wireless access instructions.
4 . What to remember while registering?
Select a convenient date and time that fits your schedule when registering for your exam. However, you must arrive at least 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time; late arrivals will not be allowed into the testing room.
5 . What is the score validation?
Your scores are valid for one year; if you do not pass one of the two clinical skills exams within 12 months of taking either one of them, you must retake both tests within one year of retaking your first exam to maintain eligibility for certification by examination only (CE Only).
If you do not take either exam within 12 months after retaking, your certification will expire, and you must complete both exams again before applying for CE.
6 . When is the test scheduled?
The test is administered twice per year, in May and November. You can find out which dates are offered by checking the official USMLE website or contacting your school’s admissions office.
7 . How to prepare for the exam?
The USMLE is not a test of intelligence. Instead, it’s a test of your ability to retain information, apply it to real-world scenarios, and make good decisions under pressure.
There are nine parts to the USMLE test. They are biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, behavioral sciences, clinical skills, preventive medicine, social and behavioral sciences in medicine, and pharmacology.
8 . Is USMLE hard?
The exams aren’t necessarily harder than they used to be; they seem that way. What’s changed is that this information is now available digitally – so it’s easier for students to find it when preparing for the tests.
Conclusion :
Don’t hesitate! Start studying early and stick with it. You’ll be surprised at how much time you save by doing so.
The time of year that is easiest to score best is not a fixed point in time, but rather something you set as part of your study plan. Your institution’s scheduling system helps dictate when scores are given out and what day has been assigned to them.
The USMLE is not an exam that can cram. You have to study hard and learn everything about medicine-related topics. The more you know going into the exam, the better you’ll do.
MedSmarter helps Medical Students pass their USMLE Step 1 & Step 2 CK Exams and provide Live and Live Online Review Courses as well as 1:1 Tutoring.
