Q1: What is USMLE and what's the difference between it and the ECFMG?
Answer: USMLE is an abbreviation of UNITED STATES MEDICAL LICENSE EXAMINATION, it allows you to have a medical license to practice medicine in USA, it consist of series of examinations which when you finish, you will get the USMLE certificate, however, this is applied to the USA and CANADA medical college graduates only who can apply for residency (neyaba) right after finishing the exams with the guarantee of having a place in it (97% of the USA and CANADA medical graduates join the residency program)
The ECFMG is the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), it's the same as the USMLE STEPS, but it's related to those who apply for the USMLE exams from outside USA and CANADA. After a foreign medical graduate finished ECFMG, he should apply for residency program on his own with a chance of succeeding or failing with NO guarantee (only 45% of foreign medical graduates succeed in applying for the residency program).
Q2: what are the USMLE steps? Or how can I get the USMLE certificate?
Answer: USMLE examination is composed of 3 steps, only 2 of them are necessary to get the ECFMG certificate.
They are
USMLE step1: it's composed of 7 categories, each category have 50 mcq in the exam, so the total is 350 mcq the content of the exam, the categories are
1-physiology 2- biochemistry, 3-anatomy and histology(both in one category), 4- pharmacology, 5-pathology, 6- microbiology and parasitology( both in one category), 7- behavioural science however, there are few topics that have no categories but is also included: genetics, aging, immunology, nutrition, and molecular and cell biology. STEP 1 can be examined outside USA, and this exam has score.
USMLE step 2: it's composed of 2 sectors:
Sector 1: step 2 CK ( Clinical Knowledge) :- it's related with the clinical part of the medical study but without a physical examination, so it can be examined outside USA, it has score as well as step 1. More details for this exam is discussed as follows:
It consists of multiple-choice questions. Test questions focus on the principles of clinical science that are deemed important for the practice of medicine under supervision in postgraduate training.
Sector 2: Step 2 CS (Clinical Skills): this is the physical part of the clinical examination which must be examined in the USA as a one day exam, multiple patients are examined in a limited time with a pass or fail policy ( no score in this exam). For more details on this part you can visit this link
http://www.usmle.org/step2/Step2CS/S...ep2CSIndex.htm
step 3: It's not required for the ECFMG certificate and it's not included in it, also, it's not conditioned on any period (after 2005 the majority of states ask the applicant to finish step 3 before residency interview or in the first year of residency ) for more information on step 3 visit this link
http://www.usmle.org/step3/default.htm
Q3: what can I get after I finish the USMLE steps?
Answer: When you finish step1, step 2 CK, step 2 CS. You'll get the ECFMG certificate which will allow you to apply for the residency program in USA. However, you should be aware that *the ECFMG doesn't allow you to work in other countries than USA, it also doesn't allow you to work in the USA till you finish the residency program and get the license.
Q4: what is the residency? And how can I apply to it's program?
Answer: The residency is the period in which the medical student graduate practices medicine but under supervision for a period of time extending from 3 years minimum to 7 years maximum with sufficient payment that differs from one hospital to another depending on the agreed contract. The period of the residency is depends on the speciality one wish to continue on in his post-graduates.
Note that residency program qualifies the person to work in the USA as a licensed medical physician. It's not a full time Job, after finishing residency you'll get your license and a visa that allows you to stay in the USA.
TO APPLY in the residency you must have the ecfmg certificate if you don't have American or Canadian nationality and not a graduate of American or Canadian medical college.
For more information about the residency you can visit the site
www.ecfmg.org
Or visit Amedeast centre in cairo 23-mosaddak street , Dokki
Q5: what is the cost of the whole Career when I Start it from Pakistan?
Answer: Step 1: the cost of usmle step 1 in Pakistan is $780 - Examination Fee + International Test Delivery Surcharge, if testing outside the United States and Canada ,
For step 2 ck; $780 - Examination Fee+ International Test Delivery Surcharge, if testing outside the United States and Canada if the exam in Pakistan,
For step 2 cs : $1,355 - Examination Fee in the usa, for examination in other countries please visit
http://www.ecfmg.org/fees.html
Q6: How do I prepare for the test? Is there a review book on USMLE?
Answer: Many resources are provided for USMLE, not a single one of them is recommended by the exams center, so you can study from any source you like, but the recommended books for STEP 1 that are available are:
1-Kaplan collection (180LE) + video DVDs
2-UCV series.
3-HIGH Yield series.
4-First aid book evaluation for Step 1 books.
http://www.mediafire.com/?cxyzml0990d
For Qs:
1- USMLE WORLD Q BANK (the best).
2- NMBE forms.
For step2, the same resources are available.
Q7: why people say that USMLE Exam is so difficult?
Answer: Preparing for the USMLE is very essential, not only with informations, but also with skills and interpreting the tricky questions, so it needs lots of practice from more that one source of either informations or exams.
But its not hard itself, the difficulty is the Risk of the experience itself, but many people managed to go through all this and challenged everything in order to reach their goal and they did.
Q8: How do I apply for the examinations? And when should I do this?
Answer: For ECFMG, you must apply with Credit card by the net, the official site is
www.usmle.org
There's provided bulletins of informations for the date of the exam, however, you can change your exam date before 3 mounths of it's time without loosing your money, but you can't take back your money if you changed your mind after you paid it, so you must have enough complete inforamtions about the payment method and the rules.
Step 1 can be taken after studying the already mentioned categories, no certificate is needed for applying for this exam.
Step 2 CK can be taken for after studying the already mentioned categories as step1, no certificate is needed for this exam
Step 2 CS can be taken only after aquiring a certificate from the medical college of the country the person applies from, for example, if the applier is from so a certificate from a medical college that is recognized by the world health organization which indicated that the applier has finished studying all medical materials.
Q9: Can I retake a Step that I passed to raise my score?
Answer: If you pass a Step, you are not allowed to retake it, except to comply with the time limit of a medical licensing authority for the completion of all Steps or a requirement imposed by another authority recognized by the USMLE program.
Q10: Can I apply for Step 2 CK or CS before Step 1? And what is the period allowed to finish step 1 and step 2 ck and cs?
Answer: Yes, it's allowed, no order is needed in those exams, the period allowed to finish step 1, step2 CK, and step 2 CS is seven years starting from the date of the payment of the first exam.
Q11: If I decided to start USMLE step 1, is there any recommended time table to take it in the summer vacation during My college study?
Answer: The recommended hours for step1 a person who already taken the materials in his college: at least 230 hours. This 230 hours can be distributed on 45 days with 5 hours daily. Also DVD lectures can be listened to in this timetable. The priority in this timetable according to the time needed will be as follows
1-physiology (100 hours)
2-anatomy and histology (35hours)
3-biochemistry (35 hours)
4-pathology (30 hours)
5-pharmacology (30 hours)
6-microbiology (20 hours)
7-behavioural science ( 10 hours)
After that, you must prepare yourself for the exam with many resources for Questions which are available in DVDs as well as the network, you must prepare your self for at least 40 hours in the form of MCQ examinations on the above materials.
However, Experiences say that it's PREFERABLE to take Step1 real exam after graduation from College and even after taking Step2. this is simply because Step1 have not less than 50% clinical Question, and that would be difficult for those who only took academic years and didn't study clinical differential diagnosis.
Nevertheless, you can Study Step1 and test yourself during summervacations, but with Simulation exam not real one, this would add to your experience and skill in dealing with USMLE examination when you apply after graduation.
Q12: what are the disadvantages of USMLE examination?
Answer: 1-very expensive test;
2-Once you passed a test, you can't retest again, the score you got is the one you'll have and you can't modify it, even if you got exactly the passing score, and that's not good for competition in residency.
3-You have only 7 years to finish the three tests USMLE 1, 2CK, 2CS, if you finished 7 years without finishing a single test of them, your pervious score in previous test you passed will be disregarded and you can't test USMLE again for ever.
4-the biggest disadvantage of all is the RISEDENCY program conditons, you must do more than one interview in all health facilities in different states in USA because each one has it's own conditions that differ from others, and this for you will be MASS competition with the whole world, doctors from all over the world will apply just like you, and it would be a matter of who's the best, there will be desires that you'll fill, and of course the desire of any speciality you want will determine the post graduates study that you'll continue on, for example, if you choose pediatrics as first one, then choose many others and the last is Radiology, if they need Radiology and there's someone better than you got applied for pediatrics also as first desire, they would take him not you, and you may take Radiology even if it's the last thing you want
5-many people had post-graduate studies in orthopedic, and went on usmle to find themselves in ENT, it's very wild competition out there.
6-USMLE Step 2 cs (clinical skills), is only 15minutes for each single patient, you must give detailed history for the patient in 15 minutes, so you must have good English and fast analyzing, but with all that, there's no score in that test, either pass or fail, so you don't know the examiner, he might consider you failed before you even have your exam
7-ONLY 45% of the people of the world who join ECFMG program or usmle success in applying for any residency even if they don't want it (47% in 2007) the other 55% just return home, the score of step1, step2 ck is considered in residency, also recommendation letters are considered, your race is not officially considered but as an Arabic muslim you should be aware especially after 11/9 events.
Q13: what are the resources for the above information?
Answer: The main resource is Amedeast center 23 Mosaddak street el Dokki,there is twice a month sessions for medical USMLE, the session is 40LE
Sites for USMLE
www.usmle.org
www.ecfmg.org
www.prometric.com.
Q14: what are the latest news about USMLE in general, and what its impact as a whole? (updated answers)
I- A new center was established in Dubai for Step2 CS examination, this is due to agreements between USA and UAE, by which any examinee in the world can take step2 CS test in Dubai instead of USA. This was originally made to reduce the flood of the Asian applicants to the USA, also its diverting attention to the USMLE by the Gulf Medical students.
the Impact of this News on IMGS:
1-first its useless because IMGS spend almost the same costs in travelling ticket to Dubai, and the cost of the exam is the same.
2-When taking Step2CS in USA, that would be good advantage for getting VISA for travelling again to the matching for residency, because being in the USA before is advantage in VISA preceedures. but now after UAE exam it would be even more difficult for those who took Step2cs in dubai to get VISA for travelling to USA
3-for the rest of Medical students outside Gulf area that look for work in the future in Gulf area, this is self depending from the gulf area to promote their local medical students and encourage them to take usmle so that they don't need workship from outside their countries.
Answer: USMLE is an abbreviation of UNITED STATES MEDICAL LICENSE EXAMINATION, it allows you to have a medical license to practice medicine in USA, it consist of series of examinations which when you finish, you will get the USMLE certificate, however, this is applied to the USA and CANADA medical college graduates only who can apply for residency (neyaba) right after finishing the exams with the guarantee of having a place in it (97% of the USA and CANADA medical graduates join the residency program)
The ECFMG is the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG), it's the same as the USMLE STEPS, but it's related to those who apply for the USMLE exams from outside USA and CANADA. After a foreign medical graduate finished ECFMG, he should apply for residency program on his own with a chance of succeeding or failing with NO guarantee (only 45% of foreign medical graduates succeed in applying for the residency program).
Q2: what are the USMLE steps? Or how can I get the USMLE certificate?
Answer: USMLE examination is composed of 3 steps, only 2 of them are necessary to get the ECFMG certificate.
They are
USMLE step1: it's composed of 7 categories, each category have 50 mcq in the exam, so the total is 350 mcq the content of the exam, the categories are
1-physiology 2- biochemistry, 3-anatomy and histology(both in one category), 4- pharmacology, 5-pathology, 6- microbiology and parasitology( both in one category), 7- behavioural science however, there are few topics that have no categories but is also included: genetics, aging, immunology, nutrition, and molecular and cell biology. STEP 1 can be examined outside USA, and this exam has score.
USMLE step 2: it's composed of 2 sectors:
Sector 1: step 2 CK ( Clinical Knowledge) :- it's related with the clinical part of the medical study but without a physical examination, so it can be examined outside USA, it has score as well as step 1. More details for this exam is discussed as follows:
It consists of multiple-choice questions. Test questions focus on the principles of clinical science that are deemed important for the practice of medicine under supervision in postgraduate training.
Sector 2: Step 2 CS (Clinical Skills): this is the physical part of the clinical examination which must be examined in the USA as a one day exam, multiple patients are examined in a limited time with a pass or fail policy ( no score in this exam). For more details on this part you can visit this link
http://www.usmle.org/step2/Step2CS/S...ep2CSIndex.htm
step 3: It's not required for the ECFMG certificate and it's not included in it, also, it's not conditioned on any period (after 2005 the majority of states ask the applicant to finish step 3 before residency interview or in the first year of residency ) for more information on step 3 visit this link
http://www.usmle.org/step3/default.htm
Q3: what can I get after I finish the USMLE steps?
Answer: When you finish step1, step 2 CK, step 2 CS. You'll get the ECFMG certificate which will allow you to apply for the residency program in USA. However, you should be aware that *the ECFMG doesn't allow you to work in other countries than USA, it also doesn't allow you to work in the USA till you finish the residency program and get the license.
Q4: what is the residency? And how can I apply to it's program?
Answer: The residency is the period in which the medical student graduate practices medicine but under supervision for a period of time extending from 3 years minimum to 7 years maximum with sufficient payment that differs from one hospital to another depending on the agreed contract. The period of the residency is depends on the speciality one wish to continue on in his post-graduates.
Note that residency program qualifies the person to work in the USA as a licensed medical physician. It's not a full time Job, after finishing residency you'll get your license and a visa that allows you to stay in the USA.
TO APPLY in the residency you must have the ecfmg certificate if you don't have American or Canadian nationality and not a graduate of American or Canadian medical college.
For more information about the residency you can visit the site
www.ecfmg.org
Or visit Amedeast centre in cairo 23-mosaddak street , Dokki
Q5: what is the cost of the whole Career when I Start it from Pakistan?
Answer: Step 1: the cost of usmle step 1 in Pakistan is $780 - Examination Fee + International Test Delivery Surcharge, if testing outside the United States and Canada ,
For step 2 ck; $780 - Examination Fee+ International Test Delivery Surcharge, if testing outside the United States and Canada if the exam in Pakistan,
For step 2 cs : $1,355 - Examination Fee in the usa, for examination in other countries please visit
http://www.ecfmg.org/fees.html
Q6: How do I prepare for the test? Is there a review book on USMLE?
Answer: Many resources are provided for USMLE, not a single one of them is recommended by the exams center, so you can study from any source you like, but the recommended books for STEP 1 that are available are:
1-Kaplan collection (180LE) + video DVDs
2-UCV series.
3-HIGH Yield series.
4-First aid book evaluation for Step 1 books.
http://www.mediafire.com/?cxyzml0990d
For Qs:
1- USMLE WORLD Q BANK (the best).
2- NMBE forms.
For step2, the same resources are available.
Q7: why people say that USMLE Exam is so difficult?
Answer: Preparing for the USMLE is very essential, not only with informations, but also with skills and interpreting the tricky questions, so it needs lots of practice from more that one source of either informations or exams.
But its not hard itself, the difficulty is the Risk of the experience itself, but many people managed to go through all this and challenged everything in order to reach their goal and they did.
Q8: How do I apply for the examinations? And when should I do this?
Answer: For ECFMG, you must apply with Credit card by the net, the official site is
www.usmle.org
There's provided bulletins of informations for the date of the exam, however, you can change your exam date before 3 mounths of it's time without loosing your money, but you can't take back your money if you changed your mind after you paid it, so you must have enough complete inforamtions about the payment method and the rules.
Step 1 can be taken after studying the already mentioned categories, no certificate is needed for applying for this exam.
Step 2 CK can be taken for after studying the already mentioned categories as step1, no certificate is needed for this exam
Step 2 CS can be taken only after aquiring a certificate from the medical college of the country the person applies from, for example, if the applier is from so a certificate from a medical college that is recognized by the world health organization which indicated that the applier has finished studying all medical materials.
Q9: Can I retake a Step that I passed to raise my score?
Answer: If you pass a Step, you are not allowed to retake it, except to comply with the time limit of a medical licensing authority for the completion of all Steps or a requirement imposed by another authority recognized by the USMLE program.
Q10: Can I apply for Step 2 CK or CS before Step 1? And what is the period allowed to finish step 1 and step 2 ck and cs?
Answer: Yes, it's allowed, no order is needed in those exams, the period allowed to finish step 1, step2 CK, and step 2 CS is seven years starting from the date of the payment of the first exam.
Q11: If I decided to start USMLE step 1, is there any recommended time table to take it in the summer vacation during My college study?
Answer: The recommended hours for step1 a person who already taken the materials in his college: at least 230 hours. This 230 hours can be distributed on 45 days with 5 hours daily. Also DVD lectures can be listened to in this timetable. The priority in this timetable according to the time needed will be as follows
1-physiology (100 hours)
2-anatomy and histology (35hours)
3-biochemistry (35 hours)
4-pathology (30 hours)
5-pharmacology (30 hours)
6-microbiology (20 hours)
7-behavioural science ( 10 hours)
After that, you must prepare yourself for the exam with many resources for Questions which are available in DVDs as well as the network, you must prepare your self for at least 40 hours in the form of MCQ examinations on the above materials.
However, Experiences say that it's PREFERABLE to take Step1 real exam after graduation from College and even after taking Step2. this is simply because Step1 have not less than 50% clinical Question, and that would be difficult for those who only took academic years and didn't study clinical differential diagnosis.
Nevertheless, you can Study Step1 and test yourself during summervacations, but with Simulation exam not real one, this would add to your experience and skill in dealing with USMLE examination when you apply after graduation.
Q12: what are the disadvantages of USMLE examination?
Answer: 1-very expensive test;
2-Once you passed a test, you can't retest again, the score you got is the one you'll have and you can't modify it, even if you got exactly the passing score, and that's not good for competition in residency.
3-You have only 7 years to finish the three tests USMLE 1, 2CK, 2CS, if you finished 7 years without finishing a single test of them, your pervious score in previous test you passed will be disregarded and you can't test USMLE again for ever.
4-the biggest disadvantage of all is the RISEDENCY program conditons, you must do more than one interview in all health facilities in different states in USA because each one has it's own conditions that differ from others, and this for you will be MASS competition with the whole world, doctors from all over the world will apply just like you, and it would be a matter of who's the best, there will be desires that you'll fill, and of course the desire of any speciality you want will determine the post graduates study that you'll continue on, for example, if you choose pediatrics as first one, then choose many others and the last is Radiology, if they need Radiology and there's someone better than you got applied for pediatrics also as first desire, they would take him not you, and you may take Radiology even if it's the last thing you want
5-many people had post-graduate studies in orthopedic, and went on usmle to find themselves in ENT, it's very wild competition out there.
6-USMLE Step 2 cs (clinical skills), is only 15minutes for each single patient, you must give detailed history for the patient in 15 minutes, so you must have good English and fast analyzing, but with all that, there's no score in that test, either pass or fail, so you don't know the examiner, he might consider you failed before you even have your exam
7-ONLY 45% of the people of the world who join ECFMG program or usmle success in applying for any residency even if they don't want it (47% in 2007) the other 55% just return home, the score of step1, step2 ck is considered in residency, also recommendation letters are considered, your race is not officially considered but as an Arabic muslim you should be aware especially after 11/9 events.
Q13: what are the resources for the above information?
Answer: The main resource is Amedeast center 23 Mosaddak street el Dokki,there is twice a month sessions for medical USMLE, the session is 40LE
Sites for USMLE
www.usmle.org
www.ecfmg.org
www.prometric.com.
Q14: what are the latest news about USMLE in general, and what its impact as a whole? (updated answers)
I- A new center was established in Dubai for Step2 CS examination, this is due to agreements between USA and UAE, by which any examinee in the world can take step2 CS test in Dubai instead of USA. This was originally made to reduce the flood of the Asian applicants to the USA, also its diverting attention to the USMLE by the Gulf Medical students.
the Impact of this News on IMGS:
1-first its useless because IMGS spend almost the same costs in travelling ticket to Dubai, and the cost of the exam is the same.
2-When taking Step2CS in USA, that would be good advantage for getting VISA for travelling again to the matching for residency, because being in the USA before is advantage in VISA preceedures. but now after UAE exam it would be even more difficult for those who took Step2cs in dubai to get VISA for travelling to USA
3-for the rest of Medical students outside Gulf area that look for work in the future in Gulf area, this is self depending from the gulf area to promote their local medical students and encourage them to take usmle so that they don't need workship from outside their countries.
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