General Policies & Procedures: USMLE Step 3: Institution Policy on Completion

University of MinnesotaMedical School(UMMS)
Graduate Medical Education Administration

Purpose
To ensure that residents/fellows (trainees) complete the required licensing examination within the timeframe outlined below to ensure that when trainees graduate from their program they have completed the preliminary requirements to practice in the United States.

Policy
All trainees must pass the USMLE Step 3 or an equivalent licensing examination (i.e. COMLEX) by March 1 of their PGY-2 year to be eligible for a resident contract at the PGY-3 level or beyond.  Trainees are encouraged to take the appropriate licensing examination early in their training to permit adequate time to re-take the exam if more than one attempt is needed.

Trainee Responsibility
Trainees should register for the USMLE Step 3 or equivalent licensing examination no later than November 1^st of the PGY-2 year to allow for scheduling, grading and notification of exam results by the March 1 deadline. Trainees who do not notify their program of a passing score by March 1 of their PGY-2 year forfeit their continuing position in the training program and are subject to contract non-renewal.

Trainees who transfer into a University program (PGY-3 and beyond) will be required to report their examination results upon application to the program.

Refer to your Program Manual for additional program specific guidelines.

Program Responsibility
Monitoring and compliance of these examinations is expected at the Department/Program level.  Requests for exceptions to this policy must be submitted in writing by the Program Directors to the Designated Institution Official/Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education.  Exceptions may be granted for extraordinary circumstances.  As this is a requirement, programs must allow non-vacation time off to take this examination.

Reference

• Eligibility and Selection of Resident/Fellow Policy;
• Minnesota Board of Medical Practice USMLE licensing requirements: http://www.state.mn.us/portal/mn/jsp/home.do?agency=BMP