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New Changes to USMLE Step 2 CK Exam
by usmlemission 06-16-2011, 09:37 PM
Change in number of USMLE Step 2 CK Exam Question items
(346 instead of 352) Starting on or around August 3, a transition period will begin in which the number of items in current forms of the Step 2 CK examination will change from 352 items to 346 items. This means there will be 6 blocks with 43 questions and 2 blocks with 44 questions each. Although the transition will occur quickly at many test centers, there may be some locations where the changes take slightly longer to complete. The overall transition period will likely last approximately 6 weeks. Please note that: • Scores on new and old forms will be comparable; the decrease in the number of items per form will be accounted for in scoring the examination results. • The length of the examination day will remain unchanged. Delay in score reporting for Step 2 CK Most score reporting of Step 2 CK results occurs within four weeks of testing. However, because of the change in timing described above, as well as routine modifications to the test item pool, there will be a delay in score reporting for most Step 2 CK examinations administered from August 3 through mid-September. The target date for reporting Step 2 CK scores for most examinees testing during that time will be Wednesday, September 28, 2011. New question formats in Step 2 CK Examination starting August 2011 (Drug Ads and Article Abstracts) Items with an associated drug ad or abstract will be introduced into the USMLE Step 2 CK Examination beginning in August 2011. Each drug ad or abstract will appear as a 2- or 3-item set*; examinees will see no more than 5 of these item sets in their examination. A description of the purpose of these new item formats is provided in the Comprehensive Review of USMLE update. Updated Step 2 CK Orientation and Practice Materials are available here. Instructions for practicing with these new item formats are provided in the tutorial. Introduction of these formats has resulted in the following minor changes to the Step 2 CK Examination structure: • Because item sets with an associated drug ad or abstract may require more time to answer than other multiple-choice items, exam blocks that include an abstract or drug ad item set will contain fewer items. A screen will appear at the beginning of a block alerting examinees if a block includes a drug ad or abstract item set so that examinees can monitor their time accordingly. • The tutorial provided in Prometric centers on exam day at the beginning of the Step 2 CK has fewer screens and less detailed information than the tutorial available as part of the Step 2 CK Orientation and Practice materials on the USMLE website. In the exam-day tutorial, the screens describing some of the navigation features of the test delivery software have been consolidated into fewer screens. In advance of testing, examinees should review the more complete tutorial available in the Step 2 CK Orientation and Practice Materials that are available at the USMLE website. * An “item set” is a drug ad or abstract and the two or three questions that accompany it. Reference: http://www.usmle.org/General_Informa...x?contentId=66 |
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WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! How the hell are they making such drastic changes so suddenly? this cant be right, there was no previous notice and these are major changes and the timing is crazy. This cant be right , guys tell me this is a joke!
EDIT : I just went to USMLE.org and its there this info is real guys i say we all complain and raise a fuss this aint right they cant be allowed to make such changes so suddenly i personally am sending a letter to General questions or questions for the USMLE Secretariat: [email protected] I hope more people can also do the same and talk some sense into them. |
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yes for you its not a problem it seems but for me and im guessing all the others in the same situation as me of giving it in august it will be a big problem. Dont they usually give a years warning before actually making major changes like this?
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This is exactly what they did last year. The announced a delay in CK in the last minutes before the match.
See StepTaker announcement last year here http://www.usmle-forums.com/usmle-ne...step-2-ck.html |
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Yeah, They are doing this every year at the same time. They might want to filter off some students even before applying, I guess. Not fair at all.
So, if the target date is Sept 28, does that mean all the students will get their results only on Sept 28 or it can be before? Since it is happening for many years, I guess somebody will answer this. |
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you are supposed to answer questions about what the ad conveys and which test would be suitable to confirm and stuff The ad itself would be okay, but the answers from the ad seem to be a bit random in how they interpret it. |
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Explaining Drug Ads and Article Abstracts
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http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesFo...ng/default.htm As for abstracts, this means they will give an article abstract and you then have to judge whether the research/study is good or bad. This is mainly biostatistical data interpretation, like you should know stuff like the P value, risk ratio, confidence intervals, validity, ...etc |
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Not earlier than Sept 28.
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I think the reason why they reduced the number of questions is the introduction of the new items.
Abstract questions would definitely need more time to solve than the other usual stuff. This means that the number of New Items would be six. Perhaps 3 drug ads and 3 abstracts. |
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Is it Agu 3rd sharply? my exam is on July 25th! Do you think my score will be delayed ?
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Just now spoke to my friend who got 99(both 260+) and he was invited to take the practice exam before implementing these changes.
He said that abstract questions are very difficult to interpret for who do not have prior research experience. Ads are relatively easy |
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What about Kaplan Qbank and UW ??
What about Kaplan Qbank and UW ??
Will both have a chance to update their materials to fit the new changes ?? |
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Actually there has been some talking about these changes since a while. It is just the official announcement that came out today
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The announcement today is that it will be implemented. But the plan for that was announced over a year ago. Read this June 2010 announcement here http://www.usmle.org/General_Informa...06-Update.html |
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So this means, if i take the exam on august 3rd or rather take the exam lets say on september 15, both scores will be released on September 28? |
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step 2 CK result date
**** i am so scared now... my exam is on 27th july,,, hopefully the result will come on time,,, i will try to call and if i get some information,, will def tell u guys also
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Oh my God yes...I freaked out too...I only found out about it because I found this thread on facebook...I am a lot more scared because mine is scheduled Aug 2nd..a day before the changes are supposed to take place...but in the very first line it says "on or around Aug 3rd!!" I looked to switch it to a week earlier and I found no spots whatsoever!! |
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This cant be logic at all !!! Since when changes like this are announced 1 month before the change! And why just before Sep cutoff time to introduce this, is it that urgent that it cant be done after Sept, they know all people managing to get into the match next year is working to be done this time of the year and they come to introduce these changes and make delays, why they didn't announce months ago ?!!!
My CK exam is on the August the 3rd! And for a month I was trying to find a place at end of July but there is no spaces available. I don't know what to do now, all the year effort is going to be evaporated now and I need to lose a year bcz of 5 questions introduced to the exam 1-2 months before the time applying to the match !!! |
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I know this is picky and probably you don't know, but if I take exam, lets say September 15th, will i get my score September 28th?, or will I have to wait 3 or more weeks anyways?
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I know you did not ask me specifically, but if this would help, I strongly believe that no one can get his results before at least 3 weeks, for two reasons : first : last year there was a similar delay and some people I know who took the exam during this period had their results no sooner than 3 weeks. second : it is mentioned somewhere in USMLE.org that they need at least 3 weeks after you take the exam in order to standardize and compare your results and assure quality. So i guess for a step 2 exam taken at Sep 15th you would expect the results to be out no sooner than Oct the 7th or so ... even later
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Not sure
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Drug ads (these are pharmaceutical company advertisemenst and you have to analyze them) Article/Research abstracts (these are abstracts of research studies and you have to analyze them) Refer to my comment above - |
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Aug 2- new format
My exam was on Aug 2nd and i had new format...does any1 know when will i get my result? on reg 3/4 weeks or Sept-28.....website says people giving exam after 3rd august will get result on 28th sept....bt what about people who gave exam on 2nd aug. with new format....i know many people had new format step 2 ck on 2nd Aug.
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you will be delayed !
@ dsd9: read this, i just received this email from ERAS today
All examinations that include the drug ad or abstract format will be affected by the previously announced score delay. The target date for reporting Step 2 CK scores for most examinees testing during that time will be Wednesday, September 28, 2011. However, the relatively good news is : This score delay does not affect your ability to apply to residency programs of your choice via ERAS. All residency program directors participating in ERAS will be notified of this Step 2 CK score delay. International medical graduates participating in the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) 2012 Main Match will be required to meet the NRMP's examination requirements. |
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