University of California 2009 Accountability Report

Indicator 6.17
United States Medical Licensing Examination Pass Rates, 2000-01 to 2007-08

Data visualization. please download the source data for accessible information.

The United States Medical Licensing Examination is the examination for medical licensure in the U.S. and is sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards and the National Board of Medical Examiners.

The Step 1 examination assesses whether a student can apply concepts of science to the practice of medicine, with emphasis on the principles underlying health, disease and modes of therapy.

The Step 2 examination assesses whether a student can apply medical knowledge and skills to patient care, and emphasizes health promotion and disease prevention.

There are two components of the Step 2 examination: Clinical Knowledge (CK) and Clinical Skills (CS). Step 2 CK uses the multiple-choice examination format to test clinical knowledge. Step 2 CS uses standardized patients to test the ability of students and graduates to gather information from patients, perform physical examinations and communicate their findings to patients and colleagues.

Source: UCOP data collection. Additional information about this exam can be found at http://www.usmle.org/General_Information/general_information_about.html.

Data represent overall pass rates (students can take the MLE exams multiple times if they do not pass). The “Step 2CS” examination began in 2004-05. National data are not currently available for 2007-08.

You may view or download a table of the raw data used to generate these charts in CSV files, which can be opened in spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice.