Saint James Receives Excellent USMLE Pass Rate in 2016-2017

Want to practice medicine in the United States? Start preparing for the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE). The USMLE is a three-step exam that provides medical licensure to top scoring students, and is sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). According to the USMLE website, the test “assesses a physician’s ability to apply knowledge, concepts, and principles, and to demonstrate fundamental patient-centered skills that are important in health and disease.” The three examinations are taken throughout a student’s medical education: Step One in year two of medical school, Step Two before graduation and Step Three during your residency. Step One assesses if the student can understand and apply their knowledge of basic sciences in medical practice. A good medical school should have a basic sciences curriculum in the first two years to support the exam. Step Two analyzes whether students can apply their medical degree correctly under supervised patient care. Step Three assesses a student’s unsupervised medical practice, especially in patient management in an ambulatory setting. While passing a step is a victory of its own, scoring high is just as important. “Residencies are competitive and they only pick the best. You can’t get licensed if you aren’t accepted into a residency,” said Ms. Guha, head of Saint James School of Medicine. The USMLE gives test-takers three chances. If you pass, the test cannot be repeated for a higher score. If you fail, you are allowed to take the step again, but previous scores stay permanently on your record. The overall pass rate for each step averages at around 94 percent, but drops down to 75 percent for international medical school graduates. Guha is raising the bar at Saint James School of Medicine with a 96.77 percent pass rate in 2016 and 2017 for the USMLE. “They are so motivated. They want to do this and they shine in this profession because passion just drives them,” Guha added, “The study of medicine is so grueling that if you’re not committed, the best student in the world won’t make it.” Saint James offers a variety of resources to students for the USMLE. Class tests are modeled off the examination, offering early exposure to its formatting. The campus also utilizes the NBME, an organization that creates practice USMLE exams, as a teaching tool for students. For Steps Two and Three in particular, Saint James provides a clinical setting early on. Through this, students can apply their textbook knowledge to a patient care setting. “Most of the USMLE questions these days are clinically oriented,” Guha said, “It’s not about reading a textbook, it’s about how you apply that knowledge to a clinical and patient care setting. Saint James teaches that.” Want to be prepared for the USMLE? Contact our admissions team to learn more about attending Saint James School of Medicine.