The test, known as the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), is actually administered in three parts over the career of a training physician. In addition to passing the exam, physicians must also complete a year of residency or internship before they are nationally licensed and can apply for state licensure.
The three parts of the USMLE focus on different qualifications a physician must have prior to licensure:
- Step 1: To pass this portion of the exam, a physician must be able to apply scientific knowledge to the practice of medicine. The content covered can includes a number of different general topics, including individual organ systems.
- Step 2: A physician must show the ability to apply his or her medical knowledge to real life scenarios to pass this part of the USMLE. One of the areas covered in this portion of the test is the diagnosis of diseases.
- Step 3: A physician must demonstrate the ability to practice without any supervision. This portion of the exam is especially important, because a physician is fully responsible for his or her actions and mistakes in practice following licensure - including negligence and malpractice.
Unfortunately, instances of negligence and malpractice still occur despite physicians having passed the exam.