USMLE, an acronym for United States Medical Licensing Examination, is the only gateway for a doctor who have obtained the medical degree outside the US or Canada. The examination is funded and conducted by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) together with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Even for the US medical graduates, if they want to practice medicine independently, they have to take the exam.

USMLE is divided into three parts – Step 1, Step 2 and Step 3. In the Step 1, one has to answer 336 EMQs (Extended Matching Questions). Subjects covered in Step 1 are – human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry including genetics, pathology and microbiology, pharmacology, nutrition including geriatrics and behavioral sciences. This is an eight hour online computer based examination. Maximum score is 300 and the pass mark is 185.

Step 2 is further divided into two parts – Step 2 CK and Step 2 CS. Step 2 CK (Clinical Knowledge) is again an EMQ based exam and it covers internal medicine, surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry. There are some centers outside US opened recently where overseas doctors can take Step 2 CK. But for Step 2 CS (Clinical Skill), one has to come to the US. The candidate has to take history and state the differential diagnosis with initial investigations for 12 standardized patients.

The USMLE Step 3 is taken to assess the compatibility for a foreign medical graduate to work independently in the US atmosphere. Emphasis is also given to ambulatory patient care setup.

In the United States, this exam is called USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination). In the UK, it is named as PLAB (Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board). In Australia, an overseas medical graduate has to pass the exam set by the AMC (Australian Medical Council).

This medical licensing exam is a tough one and it requires a lot of grueling hours to prepare for it. Questions are usually MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) or EMQ (Extended Matching Questions). Questions are picked from every subject like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, microbiology, internal medicine, surgery, psychiatry, obstetrics & gynecology, preventive medicine and genetics. The division of subjects may vary depending upon the exams.

USMLE is divided into three parts – Step I, Step II and Step III. There are some overseas countries where a medical graduate can take the exam. In Step I, there is an exam of EMQ. Step II is again divided into 2 part – Step II CK (Clinical Knowledge) and Step II CS (Clinical Skills). One has to pass these two steps to gain a medical license to practice medicine in the US. Step II has to be taken in the US only. Step III is for the students who want to engage in a job which is independently awarded.

The PLAB has two parts – Part 1 and Part 2 or OSCE. Part 1 can be taken in outside UK but one has to come to the country to take the Part 2.