How many orders are there on the USMLE Step 3 CCS cases?
This is a common question. There are 20,000+ orders on the USMLE Step 3 CCS cases portion of the exam. This means essentially that there are infinite combinations of orders that can be done for each test. However, one thing that can trip people up is that there are many different ways of ordering the same thing. For example, you can order a CMP by typing in one of the following: CMP; or metabolic panel 14; or panel 14; or comprehensive metabolic profile; or Chem 14; etc.
So, there are a number of ways to order the exact same thing. When you finish ordering it, it will come up on your order sheet as the same order. For example, if you order CMP, the order will come up on your order sheet as “Comprehensive metabolic profile.” If you order Chem 14, it will also come up on your order sheet as “Comprehensive metabolic profile.” So, all roads lead to Rome here.
In the test there are about 2400 unique orders meaning that the rest of the 20,000+ are orders that are “duplicate” as described above. This is convenient because there are many ways to skin a cat and people know the same thing by different names. This allows different backgrounds and training to get the same order.
Some programs that help you prepare for the CCS portion of the test do not have all the different order combinations. They only have the “unique” orders; some don’t even have all the different unique orders. This means that you will have to learn how to order something in the practice version which may or may not even be on the real test.
Our program contains all the 20,000+ orders that you will see on the real test. This way you will be able to get used to having the ability to order different tests/treatments the same way as it will appears on test day and not having to worry about learning one way for practicing and then trying to remember to do it differently on test day.
If you’d like to try out our program, you can download 2 free cases here.
Below is an image of the order sheet: