A summary of USMLE announcements for Step I during the first semester of 2008

 

A summary of official announcements about USMLE Step I posted at the USMLE website during the first semester of 2008

 

 

April 14^th: About the inclusion of media files in the Step I exam

 

A small number of multiple choice questions will include audio or video clips

 

May 09: About number of items in Step I

 

The number of items on Step I will change from 350 to 336, divided into seven blocks with 48 questions each (the time for each block remains the same: 60 minutes)

 

June 10^th: About the Comprehensive Review of USMLE.

 

On June 2, it was informed that the Composite Committee, which establishes policy for the US Medical Licensing Examination, concurred with the Committee to evaluate the USMLE Program (CEUP), in the following recommendations:

 

 1.- The design of assessments to support decisions about a physician readiness to provide patient care:

a)     at the interface between undergraduate and graduate medical education

b)     at the beginning of independent practice.

 

 2.- USMLE should work in the design of an schema for measuring the general competencies important to medical practice and licensure

 

3.- The recommendation that the USMLE emphasize the importance of the scientific foundations of medicine in all components of the assessment process. The assessment of these foundations should occur within a clinical context or framework, to the greatest extent possible.

 

The report emphasize that the process will be evolutionary and that the entire process will take a minimum of four years before it will impact any test-takers.

 

(An official summary of the  report here)

 

 

For reading all the announcements in detail, please click http://www.usmle.org/general_information/announcements.html