The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners® (NBME®), co-sponsors of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®), announced upcoming policy changes to the USMLE program. These upcoming changes will take effect on 1 July 2021.
This year, the FSMB and NBME jointly made a number of changes to the USMLE program.
Step 1 score reporting from a three-digit numeric score to reporting only pass/fail
The USMLE will transition from a three-digit numeric score to reporting only pass/fail for the Step 1 test starting in January 2022, according to a joint statement from the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME), which administer the examination.
The allowable number of attempts on each Step or Step Component from six to four
The allowable number of attempts on each Step or Step Component will be reduced from six to four. This will apply to begin with attempts after July 1st, 2021.
Before July 2021, USMLE allowed six attempts per Step examination.
All examinees to successfully pass Step 1 as a prerequisite for taking Step 2 Clinical Skills.
The Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) portion of the exam will now require all examinees to successfully pass Step 1 as a prerequisite for taking Step 2 CS. This change was made after reviewing test data, literature, stakeholder concerns, and other feedback. The move follows recommendations by a special committee appointed to conduct a comprehensive review of USMLE's three-step format. The committee suggested that Step 1 be a prerequisite for entry into Step 2 CS training programs.The policy change was effective for all applications submitted on or after July 1, 2021.
Takeaway: These changes will help the USMLE program keep up with the times and better prepare doctors for their jobs after they graduate from medical school.
