USMLE Step 3

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) offers the Step 3 examination as one way to determine if a candidate is ready for unsupervised medical practice. The assessment stresses patient management in ambulatory care situations, and measures a candidate's ability to assess patient conditions and handle the medical care. Candidates' clinical judgment will be tested. Most of the conditions included are frequently found diseases that have strong impacts, although other less frequently found clinical issues are also included. The questions are formed based on patient cases, including an account of a clinical encounter. Candidates will need to answer questions based upon what they would do or what they think. There is a strong emphasis on ambulatory patient cases, but other difficult inpatient cases are also included. Candidates must be able to use a strong knowledge of basic science, particularly when reasoning out a prognosis or management plan. At the Step 3 stage, the candidate is assumed to have sufficient knowledge of the basic fundamentals covered in the Step 1 and Step 2 assessments.

The Step 3 assessment has multiple-choice questions and computer-based case studies. This assessment is scored either on a two- or three-digit scale. If it is a two-digit scale, the minimum passing score is 75. If it is a three-digit scale, the minimum passing score for a test taken after May 1, 2008 is 187.