USMLE Steps 1 & 2 Ck May be Combined Soon...

Relax ! Not happening too soon - but not too far ahead in the future either - we are talking more like after 2011/2012. The combining of USMLE steps 1 and 2 CK will happen parallel to the change towards an integrated medical/clinical education model - i.e. clinical integration right from the start of medical school as opposed to the current method of covering basic medical sciences in the early years and then transitioning to clinical. One possible method would be going system-wise rather than subject wise, but that's my brains trying to burp out a lazy solution..lol

I don't have any formal references and hence not a 100% surety to offer on this one - (drop a comment if you find one ) - I got to hear about it after attending a seminar by someone who has been actively involved in American Medical Edcuation design. USMLE.org did post an annoucement in June 2008 that a big change in the exam design will happen in about four years and that the focus of the exams will be to assess core competencies on patient care (probably means not stressing directly on basic subjects)...read here

Implications ? Besides the obvious perceived larger study load - and having to pay for one less step perhaps - the students in MD-PhD tracks might face a larger hurdle of having to come back to medical school after phD years and taking the combined step after a medical study gap...

So....another reason to take steps early ;-) I can't speak for IMGs from all nations, but in India, the medical students are sorta accustomed to taking the PG-entrance tests which covered entire medical school subjects in one test...

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Is ur mindset flexible enough to ?