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USCE..

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hitesh
.

Topics: 61
Posts: 969

06/20/05 - 01:59 PM

hi
i am an IMG from india.

i wanted to know that what all sorts of USCE can one get?
how do you apply for these...?

what are electives?
what are the eligibility requirements?

if somebody could give me an overview....

is there any website where i could find all the info...?

i would really appreciate it if the IMGs who had/have USCE or some good US LORs
could post the specifics...
as in what exactly you are/were doing, how you got into it, how much you got to pay,
or how much you get paid, the eligibility rquirements of the prog u are working with etc. etc.

kindly also include any research work anybody might be doing..

i guess all this information wud be really helpful for other IMGs too...

Thank You!!

___________________
2/4

Ms.Apara
Forum Senior

Topics: 31
Posts: 128

06/20/05 - 10:53 PM

STEP 1

The USMLE* Step 1 is the first in the series of three USMLE exams that candidates must pass in order to qualify for medical licensure in the United States. It is a one-day computer exam taken by most medical students at the end of their second year of medical school. It is also taken by thousands of international medical graduates (IMGs) who wish to practice medicine in the United States.

Unlike previous USMLE exams in which candidates all took the same test on the same dates, the computer versions are administered by appointment on a year-round basis.

The Step 1 emphasizes basic science principles, specifically in anatomy, behavioral science, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology. Interdisciplinary areas such as genetics, immunology, and nutrition are also tested.

The Step 1 exam contains 350 questions and spans 8 hours of testing (including an hour of break time). It is administered as 7 one-hour "blocks" of 50 questions each. You will be able to skip back and forth among test questions, but only within a particular block. Once you leave a block (or time expires for that block), you will not be able to return to the questions of that block.

Subject within a block does NOT group step 1 questions. For example, you won't find a section devoted to biochemistry. This random ordering of items presents you with a unique challenge. You must switch from thinking about one subject, such as pathology, to another, such as behavioral science, without skipping a beat.

In total, you will have 45-60 minutes of "break" time depending on whether you choose to complete the 15 minute tutorial at the start. You can "add" to your break time by finishing a block early. Please note, however, that finishing blocks early does not add to your total "test time" which remains constant at 7 hours. That means that you can't add time to one block by finishing another block ahead of time. You should only take breaks BETWEEN blocks; leaving the testing area DURING a block will be noted as a testing irregularity.

Question Formats
The only question format currently on the USMLE Step 1 is one best answer (matching questions as well as negatively phrased questions were eliminated a few years ago). Some of the Step 1 items test your fund of knowledge directly; however, the majority require application of basic science principles to clinically-relevant situations. You will also be asked to identify microscopic and gross specimens, interpret graphic or tabular information, and solve simple clinical problems.

In an effort to make the Step 1 exam more medically relevant, the USMLE items often assess basic medical science concepts in a clinical context. While some points are asked in a fairly traditional, straightforward manner, you will also be presented with many clinical vignettes. This style typically involves fairly long lead-in scenarios followed by relatively brief response options.

USMLE Step 2 CK
Test Overview

The Step 2 CK exam contains 370 questions and spans 9 hours of testing (including an hour of break time). It is administered as eight, 1-hour "blocks" of 46 questions each. You will be able to skip back and forth between test questions, but only within a particular block. Once you leave a block (or time expires for that block), you will not be able to return to the questions of that block.

Step 2 CK questions are NOT grouped by subject within a block. For example, you won't find a section devoted to pediatrics. This random ordering of items presents you with a unique challenge. You must switch from thinking about one subject, such as surgery, to another, such as obstetrics, without skipping a beat.

In total, you will have 45-60 minutes of "break" time depending on whether you choose to complete the 15- minute tutorial at the start. You can "add" to your break time by finishing a block early. Please note, however, that finishing blocks early does not add to your total "test time," which remains constant at 8 hours. That means that you can't add time to one block by finishing another block ahead of time. You should take breaks only BETWEEN blocks; leaving the testing area DURING a block will be noted as a testing irregularity.

Question Formats
There are two multiple-choice formats used on Step 2 CK:

single best answer

single answer matching

For both formats, there are 3 to 26 answer choices (for the one best answer format, there are typically 5). Most items describe a patient and ask you to identify the underlying mechanism of the disease, propose a diagnosis, order diagnostic studies, or initiate treatment. Questions that incorporate graphic, tabular, and pictorial material are also included.

The Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) Examination
Overview

Step 2 CS is a one-day, live exam that resembles a physician's typical workday in a clinic, doctor's office, emergency department, and/or hospital setting in the United States. Examinees have fifteen minutes to examine each "standardized patient" (SP), who is an actor chosen from a broad range of age, racial, and ethnic backgrounds and trained to portray a real patient. During the examination, examinees are expected to communicate with the SPs in a professional and empathetic manner, elicit important historic information, perform a physical examination, answer any questions from the SPs, tell them what diagnoses are being considered, and inform them of what tests will be ordered to clarify their diagnoses. After each encounter, examinees must record pertinent history and physical examination findings, list diagnostic impressions, and outline plans for further evaluation, if necessary.

Step 2 CS at a Glance
Total Examination Length: 8 hours with two breaks (30 minutes; 15 minutes)
Sessions: AM and PM
Patient Encounters: 11 or 12 (11 are scored)
Length of Each Patient Encounter: 15 minutes
Time Allotted for Writing Each Patient Note: 10 minutes

Step 2 CS Clinical Skills Evaluation Centers
Step 2 CS will be administered at regional Clinical Skills Evaluation Centers (CSEC) at the following locations:

Clinical Skills Evaluation Center—Philadelphia
3624 Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Clinical Skills Evaluation Center—Atlanta
Two Crown Center
1745 Phoenix Boulevard, Suite 500
Atlanta, GA 30349

Clinical Skills Evaluation Center—Chicago
Crossroads Center at O'Hare
6th Floor
8501 West Higgins Road
Chicago, IL 60018

Clinical Skills Evaluation Center—Los Angeles
Pacific Corporate Towers
13th Floor
100 N. Sepulveda Blvd.
El Segundo, CA 90245

Clinical Skills Evaluation Center—Houston
400 North Belt
400 North Sam Houston Parkway
Suite 700
Houston, TX 77060

Eligibility
In order to be eligible to register for USMLE Step 3, international medical graduates who have already passed the CSA will not be required to pass Step 2 CS to register for USMLE Step 3. International medical graduates who have not passed CSA will be required to pass Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS.

In order to be eligible to register for USMLE Step 3, students and graduates of LCME or AOA-accredited medical schools will be required to meet current examination requirements (i.e., passing Step 1 and passing Step 2 CK), and to pass Step 2 CS if they: (a) have graduation dates in 2005 or later, or (b) have graduation dates prior to 2005 and have not passed the CK component of Step 2 taken on or before June 30, 2005.

Eligible US and Canadian medical school students/graduates will be allowed to take Step 1 and each of the two components of Step 2 in any sequence. Eligible International Medical Graduates will be required to take Step 1 before taking either Step 2 CS or CK.

Step 2 CS Pilot Exams
In order to prepare for the new exam, each of the five regional Step 2 CS Centers, in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Houston, will be conducting a Pre-Implementation Pilot Examination (PIPE) for a few weeks before the center officially opens. The PIPEs serve for pre-testing to make sure the SPs and the testing centers are ready. Students who are enrolled for a Step 2 CS exam may enroll in a PIPE if it is available in the center for which they are scheduled. There will be no charge for the PIPE. PIPE participants will also receive some limited feedback on how they performed on the examination. Note: this limited feedback is not meant to be predictive of actual performance on the Step 2 CS examination.

USMLE Step 3
Test Overview

The USMLE* Step 3 is the third in the series of three USMLE exams that candidates must pass in order to qualify for medical licensure in the United States. It is a 2-day computerized examination with approximately 500 multiple-choice items administered over the first day and a half of testing. These items deal with clinical situations typically encountered by a generalist physician. The exam concludes with a half-day consisting of approximately 9 open-ended computer-based case simulations (CCS).

The Step 3 exam focuses primarily on patient management (45-55% of the questions). Other "physician tasks" tested include history and physical (8-12%), lab and diagnostic studies (8-12%), diagnosis (8-12%), prognosis (8-12%), and pathophysiology (8-12%). In addition to "physician tasks," each question also falls into one of three clinical encounter frames: initial workup (20-30%), continued care (55-65%), and emergency care (10-20%).

Multiple Choice Sections
The multiple-choice part of the test is divided into blocks of 25-50 items. You will have 30-60 minutes to complete each block. Detailed clinical situations are provided for each item and are frequently accompanied by pictorial material and laboratory data. Unlike Steps 1 and 2, in which questions in a block do not relate to each other in any way, the questions in a Step 3 block all belong to the same clinical setting. Items in each block represent one of four settings in which you could encounter a patient:

1. Satellite health center
2. Physician's office
3. Hospital
4. Emergency department

At the beginning of each block, you are told which clinical setting you are dealing with and are given information about what sort of resources are available in that setting.

Computer-based Case Simulations (CCS)
Computer-based case simulations (CCS) are a new testing format on the Step 3 exam and comprise the last 3 hours and 45 minutes of testing. Multiple patient cases are used to assess your ability to evaluate history and physical examination information, order diagnostic tests, select initial therapies, and manage the patient as he/she responds to your clinical interventions. The CCS format assesses your clinical judgment in a more "realistic" way than multiple-choice questions do.

The Step 3 patient simulations are delivered using NBME's PrimumTM Software, which allows simulation of physician/patient encounters in a variety of settings. You manage the case without prompting, typing in a variety of diagnostic and treatment options. The software recognizes thousands of possible entries that you can type into the order sheet and is programmed with results for any intervention or test you choose.

As you move the case clock forward, you receive the results of the tests you ordered and the patient's status changes based on the underlying medical problem and in response to the specific management decisions made. Acute cases may need to be managed in a short period of case time, whereas patients with chronic problems will require management over months of simulated time.

Question Formats
There are three question formats used in the multiple-choice sections of Step 3:

Single Best Answer
These items, which are the most commonly used, typically have four or five answer choices. You will be asked to select the one best response. Some negatively phrased items are used. In these items, the negative word or phrase is capitalized for emphasis (e.g., LEAST, NOT, EXCEPT).

Multiple Item Sets
In multiple item sets there is a vignette followed by several questions. The items are designed to be answered independently of one another and focus on different aspects of the case presentation.

Case Clusters
In case clusters, as in multiple item sets, several questions all relate to an initial vignette. However, in case clusters, new information is added as the case unfolds over time from item to item. It is imperative that you answer the questions in the order given since the case changes from one item to the next; you need to answer each item based only on the information revealed about the case up to that point.

Ms.Apara
Forum Senior

Topics: 31
Posts: 128

06/20/05 - 11:05 PM

read the above carefully

well if u r from del this is for u.....

pay attention to biochem as asians score least in it.... esp electrolyte n acid base balance

u hav to buy gud books for - bio stat , behavior sci . genetics ( formula q need very gud understanding) , immuno ( our books in micro hav a very low standard as compare to their's) , nutrition , also PSM not of india v r in a developed country , of usa its a developing country....

Ms.Apara
Forum Senior

Topics: 31
Posts: 128

06/21/05 - 06:22 AM

http://www.medicalexamsonline.com/usmle/usmle1_bo...

United States Medical
Licensing Examination Information

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