The 115 students of the MD Program graduating Class of 2008 have achieved the highest average to date of any USF College of Medicine (COM) class on the Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) examination of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). Physicians in the U.S. must pass 4 licensing exams before they may practice medicine. They are: Step 1, 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK), Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) and Step 3. Here at USF, COM students are required to take and pass Step 1 after year 2 of their MD studies. COM students must pass Step 2 Clinical Knowledge and Clinical Skills prior to graduation. Students take Step 3 during their year of residency training.

All 115 students in the USF COM, Class of ’08, passed the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) on their first attempt in contrast to the national performance, which has a 96% pass rate on the first attempt.

The mean score for USF COM students in the Class of ’08 was 237.5 compared to a national mean of 226.

“This achievement is a reflection of both the outstanding students we have at the College of Medicine and the excellence of our educational program and faculty,” said Steven Specter, PhD, Associate Dean for Student Affairs at the USF College of Medicine.

The outstanding results on this national medical licensing exams are part of a trend at the USF medical school in its efforts to increase Step 2 Clinical Knowledge scores. Test results have been consistently on the rise since its new curriculum was put in place for the Class of 2004.