What are the main exams for the American Physician License Examination

What are the main exams for the American Physician License Examination

Step 1: The main exam is basic medicine, which includes gross anatomy, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, and behavioral science. Behavioral Science is a bit like our medical ethics, which is a communicative exam about how to answer patient questions when encountering certain situations.

This exam is a computer exam. There are a total of seven blocks, each with 46 multiple-choice questions. The subject content is actually mixed together, and each block must be completed within one hour. During the exam, there are a total of eight hours, including one hour of free time. During the period between blocks, you can pause the answering time at any time, and change it to free time to go to the bathroom or eat. When you come back to continue answering, you can change the time back to the answering time. The exam results will result in two types of scores, one being a percentage level and the other being a true score.

Step 2: This section is further divided into CK (Clinical Knowledge) and CS (Clinical Skill). CK is also a computer exam. The main exam is for clinical medicine, such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, etc. There will be a total of eight blocks, each with 44 multiple-choice questions. The subject content is also mixed and must be completed within one hour. The total exam time is nine hours, which includes one hour of free time like Step 1. The exam results are also two types of scores, the percentage level and the actual score.

CS is similar to our OSCE or fake patient exam, which requires taking the exam in the United States. There are only five locations to choose from: Philadelphia, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston, and Los Angeles. During the exam, a total of 12 professional fake patients will be encountered. In the unknown condition, from history taking to explaining the condition, answering the patient's questions, and so on, all are within the scoring range, which takes about five hours in total. The exam results are only Pass or Fail, without any difference in score.

Step 3: Mainly for the further application of medical knowledge after clinical internship. This part is also a computer exam and must be taken in the United States. For us foreign medical students, to apply, they must pass Step 1 and Step 2 and obtain an ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Grades) certificate in order to qualify for the exam. If they are American medical students, most of them apply when they become resident physicians in their first year after graduation, but foreign medical students only need to obtain an ECFMG certificate