Ukrainian Medical Council

STEP EXAMINATIONS (ECFMG)

 

 

How to prepare for STEP (ECFMG) ?

 

Department of Education and Training at the Ukrainian Medical Council has established a specialized training course to be prepared for STEP examinations of the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).

The training course contains 24 classes (individually) on the principal theoretical issues:

1. Social Medicine and General Hygiene
2. Hematology and Lymphatic System Pathologies
3. Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems Pathologies
4. Skin and Related Connective Tissue Pathologies
5. Musculoskeletal System Diseases
6. Respiratory System Diseases
7. Cardiovascular System Diseases
8. Gastrointestinal System Diseases
9. Renal/Urinary System Diseases
10. Reproductive System Diseases
11. Endocrine System Diseases
12. Immune System Pathologies
13. Obstetrics and Gynecology
14. General Surgery and Reconstructive Surgery
15. ENT Diseases
16. Rheumatology Diseases
17. Psychiatry Pathologies
18. Community Health and Family Medicine
19. Preventive Medicine
20. Pediatrics
21. Orthopedics and Traumatology
22. Infectious Diseases
23. Internal Diseases
24. Diagnostics and Imaging

 

This training course is the main theoretical course for doctors to be prepared for both USMLE STEP 1 Examination and STEP 2 CK Exam. Our training course at the Department of Education and Training also provides additional training materials for STEP 2 CS Exam and gives opportunity to practice using special training programs for individual preparation on the obligatory issues to demonstrate the fundamental clinical skills essential for safe and effective patient care.

 

How to apply for our training ?

 

To apply for STEP training, please, contact Ukrainian Medical Council directly

Phone number: +38044 592-05-75 or e-mail: education@medicalcouncilukraine.org

 

What ECFMG is ?

 

Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) assesses the readiness of international medical graduates to enter residency or fellowship programs in the United States which are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

The United States Medical Licensing Examination or USMLE is a multi-part professional exam sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Medical doctors are required to pass before being permitted to practice medicine in the United States of America.

 

What is important to remember about STEP 1 ?

 

USMLE STEP 1 Examination

The USMLE STEP 1 exam is the first part of the USA Medical Licensing Examination. This challenging examination for health practitioners has to assess whether medical school students or graduates can apply important concepts of the sciences fundamental to the practice of medicine.

US medical students as a common practice take STEP 1 at the end of the second year of medical school. Graduates of international medical schools must also take STEP 1 if they want to practice in the USA. Graduates from international medical schools must apply through ECFMG to be registered.

• STEP 1 is to assess whether the candidate understands and can apply important concepts of the sciences basic to the practice of medicine, with special emphasis on principles and mechanisms underlying health, disease, and modes of therapy.
• STEP 1 is to guarantee profound knowledge of not only sciences providing a ground for the safe and competent practice of medicine at present, but also the scientific principles required for competence maintenance via continuing learning and studies.
• STEP 1 contains multiple-choice questions prepared by examination committees, teachers, investigators, and prominent clinicians in respective medical fields. Committee members are selected to provide broad representation from the academic, practice, and licensing communities across the United States and Canada.
• STEP 1 test is designed to measure basic science knowledge. Majority of questions suggest interpreting graphic and tabular material, to identify gross and microscopic pathologic and normal specimens, and to solve problems through application of basic science principles.
• Step 1 is constructed from an integrated content outline that organizes basic science content according to general principles and individual organ systems. Test questions are classified depending on whether they focus on concepts and principles that are important across organ systems or within individual organ systems.

 

STEP 1 test issues and content coverage are subject to change. Broadly based learning that establishes a strong general understanding of concepts and principles in the basic sciences is the best preparation for the examination.

STEP 1 suggests the following issues of medical sciences:

1. General Principles
2. Hematopoietic and Lymphoreticular Systems
3. Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems
4. Skin and Related Connective Tissue
5. Musculoskeletal System
6. Respiratory System
7. Cardiovascular System
8. Gastrointestinal System
9. Renal/Urinary System
10. Reproductive System
11. Endocrine System
12. Immune System

 

Test Question Format

STEP 1 consists of multiple choice questions with only one best answer. Each question will be structured with a statement or question followed by three to eleven response options, each labeled with a letter (e.g: A, B, C, D, E) and arranged logically or alphabetically. Some response options will be partially correct, but only one option will be the best and correct answer. A portion of these questions will also involve the interpretation of graphics and images.

 

 

Strategies in Answers to the STEP 1 Test Questions

1. The candidate has to read each question carefully. It is important to understand what is being asked.
2. The candidate may try to generate an answer and then look for it in the option list.
3. Alternatively, the candidate can read each option carefully, eliminating those that are clearly incorrect.
4. Of the remaining options, you select the one that is most correct.
5. If unsure about an answer, it is better for the test-taker to guess since unanswered questions are automatically counted as wrong answers.

 

 

What STEP 2 CK Exam is ?

 

USMLE STEP 2 CK Exam

STEP 2 CK Exam

STEP 2 Clinical Knowledge (STEP 2 CK Exam) is the initial part of STEP 2. This exam consists of multiple-choice questions reflecting academic, clinical practice, and licensing communities across the United States and Canada. The clinical science material of the STEP 2 CK is organized in two suggested dimensions:

 

• Normal conditions and diseases (normal growth and development, basic concepts and general principles)
• Physician tasks (preventive medicine and health, understanding mechanisms of disease, establishing a diagnosis, and patient management).

 

STEP 2 CK Examination Content:

• Internal Medicine
• Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Pediatrics
• Preventive Medicine
• Psychiatry
• Surgery
• Other areas relevant to provision of care under supervision

 

Most Step 2 CK test items describe clinical situations and require that a test-taker has to provide one or more of the following:

• a diagnosis,
• a prognosis,
• an indication of underlying mechanisms of disease,
• the next step in medical care, including preventive measures.

 

Normal Conditions and Disease Categories:

 

• Normal growth and development and general principles of care
• Individual organ systems or types of disorders
• Immunologic disorders
• Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs
• Mental disorders
• Diseases of the nervous system and special senses
• Cardiovascular disorders
• Diseases of the respiratory system
• Nutritional and digestive disorders
• Gynecologic disorders
• Renal, urinary, and male reproductive systems
• Disorders of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium
• Disorders of the skin and subcutaneous tissue
• Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue
• Endocrine and metabolic disorders

Physician Task

15%–20% Promoting preventive medicine and health maintenance

20%–35% Understanding mechanisms of disease

25%–40% Establishing a diagnosis

15%–25% Applying principles of management

 

STEP 2 CK Exam has maximum of 355 multiple-choice test items. It is divided into eight sixty minute blocks and administered in one nine hour testing session. For STEP 2 CK Exam, during the defined time to complete the items in each block, the candidate may answer the items in any order, review your responses, and change answers. After you exit the block or when time expires, test-taker can no longer review test items or change answers.

 

 

What STEP 2 CS Exam is ?

 

USMLE STEP 2 CS Exam

 

STEP 2 Clinical Skills (STEP 2 CS Exam). This part of examination is to assess whether you can demonstrate the fundamental clinical skills essential for safe and effective patient care under supervision. There are 3 components of Step 2 CS Exam:

 

1. Integrated Clinical Encounter (ICE)

• Data gathering - patient information collected by history taking and physical examination
• Documentation - completion of a patient note summarizing the findings of the patient encounter, diagnostic impression, and initial patient work-up

 

2. Communication and Interpersonal Skills (CIS)

• Questioning skills
• Information-sharing skills
• Professional manner and compliance with the patient

 

3. Spoken English Proficiency (SEP)

 

• Clarity of spoken English communication within the context of the doctor-patient encounter

 

STEP 2 CS Exam uses standardized patients, i.e., people trained to portray real patients in the examination. You are expected to establish rapport with the patients, elicit pertinent historical information from them, perform focused physical examinations, answer patient questions, and provide counseling when appropriate. After each patient interaction, you will record pertinent history and physical examination findings, list diagnostic impressions, and outline plans for further evaluation, if necessary. The cases cover common and important situations that a physician is likely to encounter in common medical practice in clinics, doctors' offices, emergency departments, and hospital settings in the United States.

 

Test Length and Format

 

Step 2 CS has twelve patient cases. You will have fifteen minutes for each patient encounter and ten minutes to record each patient note. If you do not use the entire fifteen minutes for the patient encounter, the remaining time will be added to the time you have to record the patient note. The testing session is approximately eight hours. Step 2 CS cases must be taken in the order presented. After you exit the case or session, or when time expires, you can no longer review test items or cases, change answers, or collect additional information.

 

 

What STEP 3 CK Exam is ?

 

USMLE STEP 3 Exam

 

This examination is taken after the Residency Training in the USA only.

STEP 3 Examination consists of multiple choice and computer based simulations to assess a medical student or graduate’s application of their medical knowledge and understanding of biomedical and clinical science in managing patients in an unsupervised setting. The results of this exam demonstrate their ability to independently provide a standard of care to their patients. STEP 3 is the final component of the USMLE exam series.

 

The STEP 3 examination is organized in three organizing dimensions:

 

• Normal conditions and disease categories (normal growth and development, basic concepts, and general principles)
• Clinical encounter frame (initial work up, continuing care, urgent intervention)
• Physician task (applying scientific concepts, formulating a diagnosis based on history, physical exam, and lab findings, and managing the patient).

 

Clinical encounter frames are common clinical scenarios physicians may encounter. They range from non-emergency problems and continuity of care to life-threatening emergency situations encountered in emergency departments, clinics and other health care facilities, settings. Each test item, in an encounter frame, represents one of the six physician tasks. For example, initial care suggests taking a history and performing a physical examination. In contrast, continued care encounters emphasize decisions regarding prognosis and management.

 

Test Length and Format

 

STEP 3 examinees test using two formats: multiple choice questions and computer-based case simulations (CCS), a testing format that allows you to provide care for a simulated patient.

 

STEP 3 has approximately 480 multiple-choice test items, divided into blocks of thirty-six to forty-eight items. You will have sixty to forty-five minutes to complete each of these blocks. There are approximately twelve computer based case simulations, with one case in each block. You will have a maximum of twenty or ten minutes depending on the case to complete each of these blocks.

STEP 3 is administered in two eight hour testing sessions.

During STEP 3 case simulations if a test-taker exits the case or session or when time expires can no longer review test items or cases, change answers, or collect additional information.