GME
Policy #111 USMLE REQUIREMENTS Rev1
July09
USMLE
REQUIREMENTS
Steps 1 and 2 (CK CS):
To ensure that all
residents/fellows meet minimal standards, the Graduate Medical Education
Program requires
that all residents/fellows
entering any graduate medical education program sponsored by the University of
Tennessee College of Medicine
on or after July 1, 2009 must have passed USMLE Steps 1 and 2 (CK and CS) or
equivalent examinations
(COMLEX-USA or MCCQE).
Any Agreement of Appointment
or offer letter will be contingent upon passing Steps 1 and 2 (or equivalent
exams). Each resident/fellow is responsible for
providing copies of passage of Steps 1 and 2 (CK and CS) or
equivalent examinations to
the program director and GME Office and will not be allowed to start training
until
this documentation is
submitted. A valid ECFMG certificate
will be accepted as proof for international medical
school graduates.
Accepted or matched residents
and fellows who have not taken or passed Steps 1 and 2 (or equivalent
examinations) by July 1 will
be released from their contract. Any
program that releases a resident or fellow who
matched through the NRMP will
be required to obtain a release from NRMP before offering the position to
another applicant.
Step 3:
In addition to the Steps 1
and 2 passage requirements for entering programs on or after July 1, 2009, all
residents/
fellows entering programs on
or after this date, will be required to pass Step 3 (or equivalent examination)
prior
to being advanced to the
third year of training. Failure to pass
Step 3 prior to March 1 of the second year of
training may result in
non-renewal of the resident’s appointment.
The resident/fellow is responsible for providing
evidence of passage of Step 3
(or equivalent exam) to the program director and GME Office.
Exceptions:
Any resident/fellow who
entered the UT GME Program prior to July 1, 2009 is excluded from this
requirement.
Any entering resident/fellow
who has already passed Step 3 or holds a current, unrestricted medical license
meets
UT GME’s USMLE requirements.
Individual programs may have
earlier examination deadlines or specific score requirements. The resident/fellow
will be responsible for
meeting individual program requirements when they differ from GME requirements.
Any exception to this policy
due to specific circumstances must be approved by the Graduate Medical
Education
Committee and the Designated
Institutional Official. The requesting
program director must provide written
documentation for the
exception. The decision of the GMEC and DIO is final.
Resident Responsibilities:
Each resident/fellow is responsible for contacting the appropriate
licensing authority to register for the appropriate
examination. All examination fees are the responsibility of the
resident/fellow. Each resident/fellow should
carefully review the exam dates and policies to ensure that the
results will be available by the required deadlines.
Information on Step 3 is available in the USMLE Bulletin of
Information
(http://www.usmle.org/General_Information/bulletin/2009.html).
In addition, many states have restrictions regarding time
intervals between the three steps, so residents/fellows
should familiarize themselves with these requirements. In
Tennessee, all three USMLE steps must be taken and
passed within seven years. General
information regarding state-specific requirements for licensure can be obtained
from the Federation of State Medical Boards (http://www.fsmb.org/).
