The Step 2 CK Clinical Knowledge exam is a multiple-choice exam designed to determine whether the examinee possesses the medical knowledge and understanding of clinical science considered essential for the provision of patient care under supervision. This exam can be taken in London.
Exam Overview
The Step 2 CK exam contains 370 questions and spans 9 hours of testing (including an hour of break time). It is administered as eight, 1-hour "blocks" of 46 questions each. You will be able to skip back and forth between test questions, but only within a particular block. Once you leave a block (or time expires for that block), you will not be able to return to the questions of that block.
Step 2 CK questions are NOT grouped by subject within a block. For example, you won't find a section devoted to pediatrics. This random ordering of items presents you with a unique challenge. You must switch from thinking about one subject, such as surgery, to another, such as obstetrics, without skipping a beat.
In total, you will have 45-60 minutes of "break" time depending on whether you choose to complete the 15- minute tutorial at the start. You can "add" to your break time by finishing a block early. Please note, however, that finishing blocks early does not add to your total "test time," which remains constant at 8 hours. That means that you can't add time to one block by finishing another block ahead of time. You should take breaks only BETWEEN blocks; leaving the testing area DURING a block will be noted as a testing irregularity.
Question Formats
There are two multiple-choice formats used on Step 2 CK:
- Single best answer
- Single answer matching
For both formats, there are 3 to 26 answer choices (for the one best answer format, there are typically 5). Most items describe a patient and ask you to identify the underlying mechanism of the disease, propose a diagnosis, order diagnostic studies, or initiate treatment. Questions that incorporate graphic, tabular, and pictorial material are also included.
Scoring
You should receive your score back within 2 weeks of your test date. The USMLE Step 2 CK is scored and reported on two-digit and three-digit scales. Your score report will also include a pass/fail designation, as well as a graphic depiction of your performance by discipline, physician task, and disease category.
The USMLE reviews the scoring scale and adjusts the passing standard. As of 2011, the minimum passing score on the Step 2 CK is now 189.
To achieve a passing score, you typically need to answer between 55% and 65% correct (it can vary based on the calculated difficulty of the exam you took as each candidate takes a different version of the exam).