USMLE Study Guide

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1, 2, and 3 offered by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) assesses physicians’ core knowledge and skills in order to practice medicine in the US. The three separate steps of the USMLE must be completed successfully before a physician candidate can practice medicine.

Step 1 examines whether a candidate can properly apply what they learned in medical school to medicine. The test covers extensive domains like:
* anatomy
* physiology
* pharmacology
* graphology
* microbiology
* behavioral sciences
* nutrition
* genetics
* aging
Step One is typically taken at the end of the second year of medical school. The test is administered at computer-based testing centers and students are allotted eight hours to complete it. The test is composed of 336 multiple choice questions separated into different domains.

Step Two assesses the student’s clinical knowledge in a simulated atmosphere. The test is usually administered during the fourth year of medical school. Candidates will be asked to cover a variety of cases including situations typical to different environments like emergency care, hospital environments, and basic clinical experience.

Step Three again assesses both medical knowledge, clinical, and various biomedical and clinical science essentials. Step Three consists of multiple-choice questions inside the medical domain as well as some computer simulated events that require critical thinking and application of medicinal learning.
Candidates for any of the three steps must be enrolled in a US or Canadian medical school.

Recommended USMLE Study Guide:

USMLE Study Guide

USMLE Flashcards