Should Canadian med students write the USMLE's?

[Guest puppyshizzle]

I did not know where to post this, but here seemed reasonable. I'm a second year medical student, and was debating whether or not to write the USMLE this upcoming summer. Has anyone written it, or is anyone else planning on doing so?

 

I've been wondering about the exam and am a little confused. I do not necessarily want to do a residency in the states (however don't want to rule it out either) but I would like the option of being able to go down there eventually do either do a fellowship or perhaps work for a period of time at one of their large centers.

 

Is the exam only for those wanting to do a residency there? Is it also required (step 1, 2, 3) in order for a Canadian trained doc to go down there just to do a fellowship? Further, what if I trained here in any given specialty and wanted to go down there to work for some time... do I need the exam or are there board exams for each specialty which must be written?

 

Any response/insight would be much appreciated...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited the subject title to make it more descriptive. -Ian

[Guest Ian Wong]

It's a confusing issue, and not one where there's a simple solution that fits all problems. Many US states recognise the LMCC exams (both of them) as equivalent to the USMLE exams (all three of them), and therefore if you happen to be interested in one of those states, the LMCC marks will count as your USMLE scores. I don't happen to know which states those are, unfortunately.

 

For fellowship, as far as I am aware, having your USMLE series written, along with your residency training completed, basically enables you to apply for a state license in whichever state you are doing your fellowship in. I'm a bit hazy on the details, but basically this means that you can moonlight while doing the fellowship (assuming that you are on the appropriate H1-B visa which will let you do this, as opposed to the J-1 visa which prohibits moonlighting), and in addition, probably makes it easier for the programs to collect on billings for any work you perform (in essence, in your fellowship you are taking attending level responsibilities, and generating attending level revenue for the department, but getting paid a resident's wage).

 

As a result, I think it's a good idea for any Canadian graduate to write all three steps of their USMLE's. Never again in your medical career will that basic science information be as at hand as it is just after Med 2. You might as well just eat the exam costs as another component of your already huge debt, and know that it's another educational hurdle that has been completed, and extends your US options further.

 

With that said, if you have any intentions or even inklings of going to the US for residency, the Step 1 is HUGE when getting residency interviews. In Canada, the medical community is small enough that away electives and reference letters carry huge weight when getting interviews. In the US, everything revolves around that Step 1 score simply because of the sheer number of applicants (who all look pretty identical on paper, so it serves as a numerical threshold by which you can discriminate between applicants).

 

Write the Step 1.

 

Ian

[Guest moo]

Here's another reason why you should take Step I. Review for the wards! I know a lot of the basic sciences won't be needed for the wards, but honestly, Step I isn't that nit picky on the details. I can't imagine going onto the wards without having reviewed some of the diseases, physiology, pharmacology, etc. I studied ages ago. It'll probably give you a heads up on your classmates as well.

[Guest Ian Wong]

Step I isn't that nit picky on the details.

I think you misspelled "is".

 

Ian

[Guest Sn22]

Hi, I don't know if I'm putting this question in the right thread or if its been elaborated on elsewhere...anyhoo, I'm in my first year at the U of S. One of our upper years was saying that Saskatchewan students cannot get Visas (for long enough) to do residencies in the US. I think he said that the longest Visas available are for about 1 1/2 years, which makes it difficult to even do a fellowship. Can someone please elaborate on or drop me a link where I might find info on what types of visas or other requirements are necessary for potentially doing residencies or fellowships in the US; and also how this differs between provinces. Thanx a lot!!

[Guest moo]

I don't think your classmate knows what he is talking about. I have never heard of this provincial restriction (unless he is talking about the J1, for which you need a statement of need from the government) as to getting a visa. Besides, the visas are issued by the US government, so assuming that all Canadians are created equal, there should be no problems with getting a visa, provided you match somewhere. There are many Canadians going down to the US to work every year (not just in medicine) so I cannot imagine why your classmate would think something like that.

[Guest Ian Wong]

I typed up a huge reply to your question, and my computer ate it, so I'm actually going to start up a new thread in this forum regarding the H1B and J-1 visas that allow you to do residency or fellowship in the US.

 

Ian

[Guest ssup]

i'm starting to plan for next yr's summer....does anyone know around when we would write USMLE 1?

 

Also, if USMLE 1 is written after Med 2, when are the 2nd and 3rd part written? When do we write LMCC 1 and 2?

 

Ssup

[Guest Ian Wong]

US exams:

USMLE Step 1: Usually written after Med 2.

USMLE Step 2: Usually written in Med 4.

USMLE Step 3: Usually written after your PGY-1 residency year.

 

Canadian exams:

LMCC Part 1: Written at the end of Med 4.

LMCC Part 2: Written at the end of your PGY-1 residency.

 

The USMLE's are all scheduled online, so they can be written whenever you choose (not like the MCAT, where there's a scheduled day that everyone writes on). You could either write the Step 1 immediately after your Med 2 finals, which gives you an earlier start to your summer vacation, or maybe write Step 1 halfway into your summer vacation to give you some additional study time, or maybe write Step 1 just prior to starting your Med 3 rotations, so you can hopefully bring some of that freshly reviewed Pathology/Pharmacology/Microbiology, etc onto your clinical rotations. It's all up to you.

 

LMCC Part 1 has a block of time set aside at the beginning of May where all graduating Canadian medical students must write; you have flexibility to choose the exact date within that small window of time.

 

Since there's greater flexibility in scheduling the USMLE's, most people try to write the LMCC Part 1 and USMLE Step 2 close together, so the studying overlaps. Similarly, if you write the LMCC Part 2 close together to the USMLE Step 3, you only really need to study once.

 

Unfortunately, there's no Canadian analogue to the USMLE Step 1, although UBC, and I think a few other Canadian med schools now want their classes to write something called the CEBS at the end of second year. The CEBS, or, Comprehensive Exam in the Basic Sciences, is a shelf exam produced by the NBME, the same organization that designs and writes the USMLE series of exams. Because of that, the CEBS is essentially identical to the USMLE in content and format, it's just half as long, and much cheaper for the medical schools to purchase and use.

 

As a result, people at UBC who are writing the USMLE Step 1 can take advantage of writing the CEBS as a "preview", of sorts, for the USMLE Step 1 exam itself.

 

Ian

[Guest EJL]

I just wanted to thank you for all the advice on writing the USMLE. I am currently doing a research project for the summer in Manhattan, and I am considering writing the Step I USMLE next summer (after my second year). Since the USMLE is an important component for applying for residency positions in the US, does anyone have any suggestions as to how much time should be realistically allocated (I'm not a horrible procrastinator) to studying for this exam? Also, what is the pass rate? Finally, is there a website that will provide me with more information?

 

Thanks,

EJL

[Guest med2006McGill]

According to the USMLE website, the pass rate for step 1 was 88% in 2002 (www.usmle.org/news/2002perf.htm). I can't say how much time should be allocated for studying for the exam since everyone has different studying habits and retains varying amount of materials from the first 2 years of med school. Some people start studying for it 6 months in advance whereas others spend only 1-2 months and still do well. You can visit the student doctor network forum, which has more discussions on the USMLE.

[Guest Ian Wong]

Floating back to the top.

 

Ian

[Guest BerkeleyLaw]

43 states in the U.S. consider LMCC as an equivalent exam to USMLE. So, technically, you do not need to redo residency or take USMLE to apply for license in those states. (there are still other reasons why you might want to consider taking it anyway that were previously discussed).

 

In terms of temporary visas to the U.S. to practice medicine, there is a problem because the U.S. Department of Health does not state that FLEX is equivalent to LMCC. So it makes it hard to get temp visas to work.

 

But there is no problem is getting the H-1b visas which lead to permanent residency (if you choose to; otherwise, you have 6 years on the visa. To renewe, I think you need to leave for 6 months before you can apply for another H-1B).

 

If you want to check out particular requirements by each state, follow this link: www.ilw.com/articles/2002...skind.shtm

[Guest Ian Wong]

Floating to the top...

 

Ian