UIC COM requirements for the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) United States Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE)

• You must sit for USMLE Step 1 in order to enter your first M3 rotation. However, you will not be officially promoted to the M3 year until a passing score on Step 1 is received. Also, according to the UIC COM Policy on time limits for graduation, students have a limit of four years to complete all basic science requirements including passing Step 1 (five years for students in the Decompressed Program).
  
  
• You must pass both USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) and Clinical Knowledge (CK) to graduate. Again, according to the policy on time limits for graduation, all graduation requirements, including a passing score on both parts of Step 2, must be completed within seven years. MD/PhD students are exempt from this requirement.
  
  

How to Register to take United States Medical Licensing Exams (USMLE)

• Go to the NBME Interactive Website for Applicants and Examinees at http://www.nbme.org and click on Application for USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Exams. Paper applications are no longer available.

• Complete Part A online, which includes your demographic information and choice of eligibility period, and submit it online. When you have submitted Part A online, Part B will be available for you to print and submit to OSA for certification.
  
  
• Submit Part B to OSA for certification with a 2" X 2" picture attached as directed (and if you are paying by check, attach your check made out to NBME). Remember to sign Part B. The Office of the Registrar sends applications to NBME via UPS on Monday afternoons. Students who wish to mail Part B themselves should attach a note to their application, stating that they wish to pick up their certified form.

Students registering for Step 1 and Step 2 online may pay by check made out to the NBME or they may charge application fees to a Visa or Master Card account. Credit card payments are available only online and are not acceptable for eligibility extensions

• Once you receive your scheduling permit from the NBME, you may schedule the USMLE examination appointment by telephone or by using Promotric's web-based scheduling system at http://www.2test.com. This website also allows registrants to confirm appointments, regardless of how they were scheduled, and to print related appointment information (enter the confirmation number provided by Prometric when the appointment was scheduled.). Please note that you must use the telephone number printed on the Scheduling Permit to cancel or reschedule an appointment.
  

• scheduling and other mechanics
• keeping track of your time
• irregular behavior that may discredit you
• disability services
• timing for receiving scores
  

When to take USMLE Step I: Factors to Consider
Required for M3 Year
Students must take the Step I after completing their M-2 year, and it must be taken before being allowed to start M-3 rotations. Most students take the exam in June; in order to do so, they must choose an eligibility period that includes June (i.e., April-May-June, May-June-July, or June-July-August).

Turnaround Time for Exam Results
The best time to take the Step 1 exam is in early June. Since the usual turnaround time for scores is approximately 4 weeks, the ideal would be for a passing score to be received before starting M-3 rotations the first Monday in July. It is recommended that students never schedule the exam the last week in June.

Delayed Exams
Students who need to delay the exam (and the start of their first rotation) must submit a petition in writing to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs. Some reasons for requesting a delay that have been approved in the past include: a) unusual personal circumstances; b) M-2 make-up exams and the need for dedicated study time for the make-ups as well as the Step 1 exam. All reasons should be detailed in your written petition.

Eligibility Period/ Time Limits
If it looks like a student's eligibility period will expire before he/she can sit for the exam, it can be extended for another three months. The form to request an extension can be found on the NBME website at http://www.nbme.org.The completed form must be submitted to Student Affairs along with a check for $50 and it will be sent to the NBME by UPS along with other applications. Eligibility periods can be extended only for an adjacent 3-month period - for example, if the eligibility period is May-June-July, it can be extended to August-September-October, not October-November-December (skipping August and September).

Retaking Exams due to Failure
Students who fail either Step 1 or Step 2 and need to retake it must reapply by submitting a new application and another application fee. According to the USMLE Bulletin of Information, students who fail the exam cannot retake it any earlier than the first day of the month 60 days after the previous test date. For example, a student who takes the exam on June 20 and fails it will not be allowed to retake it until September 1 or later.

Level of Preparedness
Finally, of utmost importance in looking ahead to taking the exam is your level of preparedness. The following are recommended as a part of a study plan (recommended not just for students who fail the exam but for everyone who is planning to take it):

• Take a diagnostic exam at the beginning of the planning process to establish a baseline for your preparation. This 3-hour exam is provided by vendors, such as Kaplan, Princeton Review, or University of Missouri at Kansas City.
• Before actually sitting for the exam, take a full 8-hour mock exam to get feedback on current level of preparedness. If the score is not as high as you would like it to be, the actual exam can be postponed for another week or two to allow for extra study. Mock exams are available from the various vendors.
• Meet with your advisor or a faculty mentor on a regular basis to discuss your study progress and level of preparedness.
• Aim for a score of 220+.

USMLE FAQ'S (includes student tips on test preparation)

When to take USMLE Step 2: Factors to Consider
Candidacy for Residency
If you are applying to a competitive specialty and you did not score well on Step I, then you may need to take Step 2 early enough to have the score back for program directors to consider when offering interviews and/or when formulating their rank order lists. Some program directors are looking at Step 2 scores more than they have in the past; some average Step I and Step 2 scores together. Because program directors are receiving large numbers of applications (even more so with the ease and efficiency of ERAS and especially in competitive specialties), they need to screen applications in order to obtain a more workable number to review. Some programs set cut-offs for Step I at 230-235. Consult our department program directors for their advice as to your candidacy in their field of practice.

Preparation
There are several questions you need to ask yourself to prepare to do well on Step 2. How did you perform on your M3 clerkships and exams? Do you need more study time? Extra study courses/programs? What in the M4 curriculum will you need to prepare you for Step 2 (e.g., Medicine Sub-I, etc.)? What rotations can be taken which will allow you more study time? What rotations should you stay away from during your study time? Also consider implementing steps suggested (above) for Step 1 level of preparedness.

Dean’s Letter and Applications
Do you want the fact you passed Step 2 included? Do you want your Step 2 score available for program directors to take into consideration when offering interviews? Or, is your Step I score competitive enough and all you want is for your Step 2 score to be available during interviews, so that if you do well, it may help you in the final analysis for rank order lists. Be aware that if you do not do well on Step 2 or worse than you did on Step I, program directors may ask during the interviews whether you have taken Step 2 and what your score is.

Graduation Requirement
If you have trouble with standardized exams and/or your Step I score was low, program directors may scrutinize more closely whether you have passed Step 2 yet or not. They are aware that passing Step 2 is a graduation requirement for UIC-COM. They may want to confirm this graduation requirement will be met before on-line rank order lists are due in February. Also, you need to allot yourself enough time to take Step 2 again in case you do not pass the first time. See revised UIC COM Policy on the time limits for completing graduation requirements, including receipt of a passind score on USMLE Step 2.

Coordination with other activities
There are a number of things going on during your M4 year in addition to taking USMLE Step 2 that you need to manage: Summer application process/deadlines, "audition" rotations (for contacts, letters of rec, getting to know them and their getting to know you, as well as arranging your interview while you are there to cut down on travel costs), residency interviews (Fall-Winter), optional international rotations, and fulfilling all graduation requirements.

USMLE FAQ'S (includes student tips on test preparation)

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