USMLEs required for US fellowships

[Bent Wiener]

Hi all, I am starting a surgical subspecialty residency in Canada. I'm sure it's been asked before, but I'm wondering which USMLEs I need (if any at all) to be considered for fellowship programs in the states. Thanks!

[JohnGrisham]

5 hours ago, Bent Wiener said:

Hi all, I am starting a surgical subspecialty residency in Canada. I'm sure it's been asked before, but I'm wondering which USMLEs I need (if any at all) to be considered for fellowship programs in the states. Thanks!

Some require passes on the STEPS, some don't require any.  You'll have to inquire with a few programs in your field and see what the norm is. Also, there's a difference between if you simply just want to go to the US for the fellowship or if your intent is to do the fellowship then potentially practice in the region also. 

@rmorelan may have some up to date info on this, at least for their field.   Generally, safe to expect you'll need passes on the STEPs. I have yet to hear or read programs actually caring about scores at the fellowship level.

[Bent Wiener]

Thanks for the answer John. My specialty is urology (as you might be able to guess from my name haha). I know there is the Step 1, 2CK, 2CS and 3. By STEPS do you mean all of these tests? I hope to do a fellowship and potentially practice in the region. 

[liszt]

3 minutes ago, Bent Wiener said:

 I hope to do a fellowship and potentially practice in the region. 

In that case you should do all them all, including step 3, so you are eligible for an H1B visa. 

[JohnGrisham]

40 minutes ago, liszt said:

In that case you should do all them all, including step 3, so you are eligible for an H1B visa. 

This is the answer, if you actually want to practice and be Board Certified (vs Board Eligible...amongst other confusing terms), safest route is to have all 3 steps under your belt (which is a requirement for the H1b anyways).

[rmorelan]

8 hours ago, JohnGrisham said:

This is the answer, if you actually want to practice and be Board Certified (vs Board Eligible...amongst other confusing terms), safest route is to have all 3 steps under your belt (which is a requirement for the H1b anyways).

yeah that is true - by saying you may want to practice there you are basically committing to doing the entire thing. Knowing that early will help because the tests do have some overlap and it will help with the studying. 

[rmorelan]

10 hours ago, JohnGrisham said:

Some require passes on the STEPS, some don't require any.  You'll have to inquire with a few programs in your field and see what the norm is. Also, there's a difference between if you simply just want to go to the US for the fellowship or if your intent is to do the fellowship then potentially practice in the region also. 

@rmorelan may have some up to date info on this, at least for their field.   Generally, safe to expect you'll need passes on the STEPs. I have yet to hear or read programs actually caring about scores at the fellowship level.

I don't know specifically for urology fellowships

You need them all for the HIB visa - now you can go and work on a J1 but if normally has a 2 year return to Canada requirement that might be annoying if you get a good job offer down there. It can be waved in some cases. 

For the fellowship itself, and even the state license in my places you don't need any of the steps. It is program/state dependent - for Harvard you don't need the steps for instance. Even if the state doesn't require it sometimes the hospital wants if you want to be staff there. 

I know a few urologist residents that are good friends going to the US for fellowships - I can ask them if you like.