The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a three-part test after med school.
According to its website, "The United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) is a three-step examination for medical licensure in the United States." The first step assesses your comprehension of the sciences upon which medicine is based. The second step determines whether you can apply your clinical knowledge of medicine in actual practice as a physician, primarily in an inpatient setting. Finally, the third step assesses your ability to independently apply medical knowledge and clinical skills primarily to patients in an outpatient setting. You must pass all three tests, or steps, to successfully complete the USMLE.
Instructions
1. Ensure you meet the following criteria in order to register for the USMLE exam: enrollment in, or degree from, a U.S. or Canadian medical school program leading to a medical degree (MD) that is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME); or enrollment in, or degree from, a U.S. medical school leading to the doctor of osteopathy degree (DO) degree that is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA); or, enrollment in, or degree from, an international medical school and who meets the eligibility criteria of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Medical Graduates (ECFMG).
2. Study the general categories and direct your efforts to ensuring that you are proficient in all the topics using your medical school textbooks and old test materials. According to the USMLE website, "The best preparation for the USMLE is a general, thorough review of the content reflected in the examination descriptions."
3. Use the self-assessment information and materials available at www.nbme.org and www.ecfmg.org. These organizations administer the USMLE together and make available study materials for your self-testing and review.
4. Acquaint yourself with the test software before the testing date by practicing the sample test questions available at the USMLE website. The software orientation prior to the actual test is brief and conducted during a period of tremendous anxiety. The more you are familiar with the software and the testing procedure, the less you have to worry about navigating the software and the more you can concentrate on answering the questions correctly.
5. Practice the test multiple-choice questions and the Primum (clinical skills) cases that are available at the USMLE website. Pay attention not only to answering the questions correctly, but the type of questions asked. This may give you hints as to the type of questions and topics on which the test will concentrate.
6. Schedule time to take a paid sample test at a Prometric Test Center. This practice test is shorter than the actual USMLE examinations and is based on content covered in the past. Instructions on register for a practice session are available on the USMLE website.
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