USMLE Step 3 - Day 1

The USMLE Step 3 is the third and final test of the three-part United States Medical Licensing Examination that is required in order to receive a license to practice medicine within the United States. This test, unlike the other two steps of the USMLE, takes two days to complete as the exam is actually administered in two separate sessions. The first session of the Step III test consists of 336 multiple-choice questions split into seven sections that are related to evaluating patients, applications of clinical skills and clinical science, biostatistics, common diseases and disorders, human development, interpreting medical literature, medical ethics, patient safety, and the management systems, quality control systems, and other systems required in a medical practice to maintain a high level of care. Each section of the test is not separated by topic, but rather contains 48 randomly distributed questions that pertain to the above topics.

The first day of the USMLE Step 3 exam takes approximately eight hours to complete as the exam-taker will have 60 minutes to complete each section of the test, 15 minutes allotted for a tutorial explaining how to use the computerized exam system, and a 45 minute break. The test is scored based on the number of correct responses and then scaled so that the individual will receive a three-digit and a two-digit score. The three-digit and two-digit scores are based on the scores achieved from the first and second day of the exam. Scores for the three-digit scale usually fall between 140 and 260 with 184 set as the minimum score required to pass the exam. The two-digit scale is not actually an exact percentage score, but still ranges from 0 - 100 with 75 representing the minimum score necessary to pass the exam. The current registration fee for the exam, which includes both days, is $655, which will be raised to $670 in 2008.