Step 2 CS is offered at times provided on the NBME scheduling website, and can be taken at five cities in the USA: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. All three sections must be passed together in order to receive a passing grade. The exam is graded in 3 sections: communication and interpersonal skills (CIS), spoken English proficiency (SEP), and integrated clinical encounter (ICE). The Step 2 CS exam consists of 12 clinical encounters (10 are graded) with standardized patient actors over the course of an 8-hour day. What is the Structure of USMLE Step 2 CS? You feel tangibly closer to being a real’ doctor! So without further ado, let’s explore what exactly this next standardized Step entails. And after all that studying, it’s a rewarding feeling to have those key clinical steps solidified - seeing an undifferentiated patient, taking a focused history, completing a focused physical exam, and then coming up with a differential diagnosis and plan independently. Generally speaking, you’ve had a lot of experiences to prepare you for your exam! Although I’ll admit I was nervous when I started preparing, as I walked out of my exam building in Philadelphia I remember feeling like I’d just had more or less a day at the office’ on my Family Medicine or Internal Medicine rotation.įor all the flack it may get, Step 2 CS actually did strengthen my clinical skills. Also, you’ve probably had an opportunity to practice for the CS format in an OSCE (which tend to mirror the CS format fairly closely at many schools). As one of these students, you have spoken to countless patients, completed many histories and physicals, and come up with your own differentials and clinical plans. So, if you are starting the process of preparing for CS, you have come to the right place.įirst, reassure yourself that overwhelmingly most people pass Step 2 CS, and for good reason! At the time most students take Step 2 CS, during the fall of senior year, they have completed the majority of their core clinical rotations. But despite the controversies surrounding the Step 2 CS exam, it seems it will remain a requirement for US medical residency programs for the foreseeable future. After all, it has a drastically different format from other USMLE exams. I certainly remember feeling intimidated when I began to study for it. The USMLE Step 2 CS exam inspires a sense of dread amongst many medical students.
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