Weekly update: program information in light of COVID-19 - 4/22/2020

Posted: April 22, 2020

Updated: June 11, 2020

As the COVID-19 situation evolves, the USMLE program continues to hear the concerns of examinees, medical schools, state medical boards, and other medical education organizations. We understand the disruption and stress that the testing shutdown has created regarding academic progression, curricular schedules, application for residency, and future licensure. On a weekly basis, we will continue to provide as much information as we can on preparations to resume testing, which is our top priority. At this time, USMLE exams continue to be unavailable:

Testing at CSEC centers for Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) is suspended until at least June 1, 2020 . [ Note : Since this announcement was first published, testing at CSEC centers has been suspended for an additional 12-18 months. Please see more recent announcements for details.]

Testing at Prometric centers for Step 1, Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK), and Step 3 is scheduled to resume on May 1, 2020 or later. Testing will resume on a site-by-site basis in accordance with local government guidelines for social distancing. Some common local guidelines have included requiring the use of a face mask in public or six feet of separation between people. Examinees should anticipate some modifications to the administrative procedures with Prometric. We will share updated information on these modifications as soon as we can.

This week’s update pertains to the planned rollout of Step 1 and Step 2 CK content changes, scheduling for Step 1 and Step 2 CS when feasible, and test administration considerations for USMLE.



Step 1 and Step 2 CK Content Changes

In November 2019, USMLE announced an increase in the number of items assessing communication skills on Step 1 that would begin May 4, 2020. We recognize that the stress examinees are experiencing in preparing for this change has been exacerbated because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the USMLE program will delay the increase in the number of items in this category until at least September, 2020. [Note: Updated from an earlier date of June 1, 2020]



Currently, the increase in the number of items assessing systems-based practice, patient safety, legal/ethical issues, and professionalism on Step 2 CK is still expected to begin in September 2020. [Note: Updated from an earlier date of June/July 2020] If this plan changes because of the evolving situation, we will share more information as soon as we can in future updates.



Scheduling Step 1

In January 2020, we recommended that examinees who needed their Step 1 scores before July 8, 2020 take their exam no later than May 3, 2020. This announcement was intended to prevent examinees from experiencing delays in their Step 1 score reports. With testing shutdowns because of COVID-19, this recommendation is no longer feasible. Those who are able to test in May 2020 can expect to have their scores reported within four weeks of testing. With the resumption of limited, site-specific testing, examinees may wish to consult their faculty advisor or student affairs dean for guidance on whether, or when, they should consider testing.



Scheduling Step 2 CS

The suspension in Step 2 CS testing has resulted in the cancelation of a large number of testing appointments and created an unprecedented situation. In order to manage the large number of impacted examinees and preserve remaining testing appointments, scheduling functionality in the Step 2 CS Calendar and Scheduling System has been temporarily suspended.



We are reviewing testing capacity and carefully considering scheduling prioritization. We will continue to reach out to impacted examinees with updated information. The USMLE program is also working with the medical education and regulation community to mitigate the impact of this testing disruption.



USMLE Test Administration

Secure administration of USMLE, along with standardized testing conditions, creates fairness and validity of the test results. Maintaining standardized and secure test administration is important to the state medical boards, who are the primary users of the exam results for U.S. and international students and graduates. To address testing delays and backlogs, the USMLE program is carefully weighing the strengths and limitations of various testing methods, such as group examinee administration and remote proctoring. In evaluating all options, the USMLE program keeps focus on the examination’s primary regulatory purpose. Therefore, we are continuing to prioritize resuming testing at Prometric and CSEC centers to ensure standardized and secure test administration.



We will continue providing whatever information we can. If you have any specific questions, you can find the contact information for the organization that registered you for your examination (ECFMG/FSMB/NBME) here. Expect another update from us next week that will be shared on our website and social media channels.