USMLE reduces number of allowed attempts for Step 3
USMLE reduces number of allowed attempts for Step 3
The USMLE just recently announced that the allowed number of attempts to pass any Step or Step Component has been reduced from 6 to 4. This means that you have four attempts to pass Step 1; four attempts to pass Step 2 CS; four attempts to pass Step 2 CK; and four attempts to pass Step 3. This will be effective starting January 1, 2021. Most students do not have to worry about this, but some students struggle with standardized exams. It is more important than ever to make sure that you pass each exam the first time if possible. Each Step exam should be taken seriously, particularly Step 3 as many students are too busy in residency to study for Step 3. A common mistake is to think that there clinical experience in residency is enough to pass the exam.
In an ideal world, what you learn in practice would correlate to what is on standardized tests, but this is not the case. Many times you must study what the USMLE deems is important even if you feel that it is not relevant. Studying the CCS Cases portion of Step 3 is very important as it is 25% of your total grade on the Step 3 exam. Doing well on this section can help you raise your score or it can contribute to failing the test if performance on this section is not up to par.
The best way to learn for the CCS portion of the test is to simply practice cases. Practice cases that you will be seeing on test day and using the software that you will be using on test day. Of course, we would recommend using our product to help in your preparation to performing well on the CCS portion of the exam. If you’d like to try out our free 2 cases; you can download it and try it out here.
Thanks for reading.