USMLE off-site programs in the U.S. and abroad

We want to bring PASS Program’s unique approach that prepares medical graduates for the USMLE to your town. Traditionally, one would have to travel to attend a school, but we are bringing the school to you. This has been very helpful for our international and domestic students who lack the time for overnighting in an immersion program for 6-8 weeks. Recently, we have traveled to Mexico and Puerto Rico to bring our training courses to international medical graduates.

Understand and Remember for a Lifetime

Our goal is to enhance your understanding of medical concepts, rather than crowding your brain with hours of related facts. Just like a young person learning to speak for the first time, we teach you to think in a way that allows you to recognize patterns in normal physiological processes of the human body. This approach makes your mind more efficient at diagnosing and treating disease. 93% of our students succeed on their exam and over 80% receive exceptional scores. The higher your scores on your medical board exam, the better chance you have at landing some of the best residency programs in the country.

Medical school is a huge investment and we want to make sure that you start your long career in medicine with your best foot forward. Our instructors are all M.D.s that have been through exactly what you are going through now. While we encourage prospective students to check out our campus and state of the art facilities, we understand that it’s not always possible. That is why we want to bring our knowledge to you, instead of having you to come to us. We just need a class full of willing and eager students to start.

Want the PASS Program in your city? Contact us for more details!

Discover PASS Free Of Charge

We are proud to offer a new webinar each month that is tailored to give prospective students more insight on specific subjects found on your exam, as well as the day-to-day activities of those enrolled in The PASS Program. Every year, we help countless people on a medical career path achieve great results. Past attendees of our immersion program have an outstanding 93% success rate. Great test scores can lead to entry into some of the most competitive residencies in the country. Start your career path with us!

Our Webinar - USMLE Prep

These presentations are interactive and have been crafted based on the most common queries. Not only will you participate in a real review on various exam topics, you will get to see the structure of our multi-week program, our small class sizes, and the personal one-on-one tutoring that is unique PASS. Most importantly, you will learn about our teaching methods and the way we train your mind to approach medicine. Webinars can last up to 90 minutes and afterwards, the questions that you have entered will be addressed.

Need Help On A Particular Subject?

Keep an eye on our schedule to see what free webinars are coming up. You may find that the subject that we are working on may be an area where you need a little boost. For example, our most recent webinar touched on anti-histamine drugs and other pharmacological drugs used in allergic diseases. Where else can you find a 90-minute medical boards prep class that’s online and free? It is absolutely risk free to attend one of The PASS Program webinars and there is no obligation to attend our learning program. We look forward to seeing you online!

Contact Us Today for More Information!

Enrollment for the April 2013 Guadalajara Program starts now!

The PASS Program is offering its revolutionary medical board exam preparation courses in Guadalajara, Mexico this spring. The 4-week session includes one-on-one tutoring, interactive lectures, practice exams, all study materials, and two NBME vouchers. Lecture centers for this series will be located at the following hotels:

1. NH Hotel Guadalajara
2. Fiesta Americana Grand Hotel
3. Punto Sao Paolo

New students may enroll on our website. Returning students will need to complete a PDF application.

If you are preparing for one of the steps of the USMLE, COMLEX, or Revalida, The PASS Program’s immersive learning environment has led to a success rate for their students of over 93%. Lectures are intentionally smaller compared to other prep courses and interaction with our M.D. faculty is highly encouraged. No one is left behind. Our level of personal attention is unparalleled.

Classes are 5 days per week with optional evening drill sessions and extra tutoring. Our aim is to sharpen your understanding of medical concepts, rather than filling your head with thousands of related facts. Just like a young person learning to speak for the first time, we teach you to think in a way that allows you to recognize patterns in normal physiological processes of the human body. This makes your brain more efficient at diagnosing and treating disease.

Higher scores on your medical board exam leads to entrance into some of the best residency programs in the country. Sign up for our Guadalajara series and start a career with your best foot forward.

Register Here

The USMLE Step 1 is the first part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination that assesses medical school students or graduates and tests their knowledge of critical medical and science concepts as it relates to being a practicing physician. It is the first of three parts of the test. While medical students in the United States typically take Step 1 at the end of their second year of medical school, it is not required at that particular time. Graduates of international medical schools must take Step 1 if they want to practice in this country and need to apply through ECFMG. If you score well on Step 1, your choice of residencies increases.

An Exam That Takes All Day

The test takes 8 hours to complete and is given on a computer at a special testing facility and is composed of seven 46-question sections with a total of 322 multiple-choice questions. You are given one hour to complete each section and allowed a 45-minute break which is measured cumulatively throughout the day. If you finish any section early, this will add to your allotted break time, but one really should not rush.

What’s On the USMLE Step 1 Test?

Step 1 of the USMLE will test various aspects of your accumulated knowledge learned through medical school, including: anatomy, behavioral sciences, biochemistry, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, physiology, genetics, aging, immunology, nutrition, molecular and cell biology, epidemiology, medical ethics, and questions on empathy. Each test is automatically generated for every test taker with different questions to prevent cheating. Although the subjects are proportionately similar, some may find certain subjects to be more emphasized than others.

The PASS Program and Step 1

The PASS Program offers Step 1 immersive preparation courses that last for 6 weeks or 8 weeks. These programs last 5-6 hours a day, Monday through Friday. One-on-one tutoring and simulated testing are included and small class sizes guarantees the personal attention you need. No one gets left behind. We train your mind to think differently, steering you away from traditional memorization of unrelated facts. We focus on top-down teaching methods that help you understand larger concepts first. Our graduates have a 93% success rate!

As you probably know, the medical board exams aren’t something you can simply cram for. Memorizing facts won’t help you if you don’t understand the higher concepts that relate to those facts. In the days leading up to the exam, the last thing you should be doing is cramming. Actually, you should be working on your physical and mental health. In approaching the day of the exam, here are some tips:

Organize Your Thoughts

Do not attempt to teach yourself new concepts. Information in the brain is best organized if it has been there longer. Trying to learn something the day before the test will likely result in you either not retaining it or not being able to access it properly.

Practice Questions

Instead of re-reading endless data that you already know, ask yourself some good questions. It’s not always about knowing the information, as it is about your ability to access that information. Asking questions works out the information retrieval part of your mind. If you get them wrong, don’t freak out. Understand why you got it wrong and let that help you.

Get Some Sleep

This one should be fairly obvious. Sleep is essential for your brain power. It also gives it time to organize what you know helps you learn more efficiently. Give yourself 6-7 hours at the minimum.

Practice Waking Up

If you need to wake up at 7AM for your exam, start waking up at that time every day in the week leading up to the exam. This allows your body to acclimate to being aware and on a new schedule.

Take a Break & Relax

From the books, that is. No napping. Eat nutritious meals, engage in some casual exercise, and get some fresh air. Not only will this help you sleep at night when your mind starts to stress, but will provide balance.

After taking the exam, spend some much needed time with your friends and family. Take a week for yourself where you don’t even think about the test or your score.

Taking the USMLE is a very important and probably stressful time. Out of this stress, legends have been created. We’re going to dispel some of these common myths and misconceptions that we have heard from our students.

The USMLE is getting harder every year

The difficulty of the test changes from year to year and the score needed to pass changes as well. The more difficult the exam is, the lower your score is required to be and vice versa. Experimental questions can be given on the test and depending on how many people get them right or wrong is how the makers of the exam determine if it’s a tough question or an easy one. This will affect whether the question is given on future tests.

Raw score vs. percentile rank

The USMLE has done away with ranking test results in terms of percentile. It was thought to be a disservice to the core principles of the exam – testing knowledge, not comparing you to other test takers.

Your Step 2 score isn’t as important as the other steps

Interviewers of general surgery applicants tend to actually focus more on Step 2 results. Regardless of that, a well-rounded candidate will be considered based on all available materials and scores.

USMLE Step 1 should only be taken after you have graduated

There’s a prevalent belief that only real clinical experience can prepare you for Step 1. This isn’t necessarily the case. Applying the knowledge of medical science you’ve learned in school can be enough. The test itself is very unpredictable and while still in a learning environment, the immersion may actually give you an advantage. Your study habits are still sound and the concepts are still fresh. This is particularly true for foreign students looking to practice in the United States, as their school may not have the same testing requirements as American students.

Memorize store-bought study guides

Cramming and memorizing hundreds of facts is not recommended, a waste of time, and it’s not what we teach at The Pass Program. We believe in understanding the higher concepts first and working backwards towards the physiological processes. That’s one of the reasons our success rate is so high.

Step 1 is mainly focused on Virology and Pathology

The USMLE is not standardized and is always changing its content to reflect the current medical standards. While the clinical vignettes you will participate in during the exam are related to pathology, the subjects will vary for each test taker. One vignette may focus on immunology and the other molecular biology concepts. Try to budget your study time accordingly for all major subjects.

Pass Program students have a 93% success rate and can give you the edge you need for your USMLE exams.

Contact Us Today to Learn More

Step 1 of the USMLE is going to measure various aspects of your accumulated knowledge learned through medical school, such as: 

It’s a very broad spectrum of concepts and some subjects may appear more than others.  No one gets the same test.  Everyone prepares differently, but unfortunately ‘cramming’ will be a very popular method.  People will crunch thousands of facts, symptoms, and biological functions into their brain with the hope of somehow retaining the information on the big day.  No wonder they call it cramming.

True retention of this information can only be accomplished by integrating these functions as a language.  By mastering what the normal blueprints of biological functions in the body are and what biochemistry is involved, relationships among those processes will emerge.  Learn the higher concepts before the relatable symptoms and you will begin to think and speak differently.

Other USMLE Tips and Strategies

• When you read a multiple choice question, try to answer it yourself before seeing what your choices are.
• Take practice exams not only gauge your strengths and weaknesses, but to see how much time you spend on each question.  Timing is very important.  Try not to take these too close to the exam day. 
• Have others occasionally write practice questions for you, instead of focusing solely on standardized practice tests.
• Prepare to diagnose problems based on visual as well as written data.
• When taking the test, don’t look up items during your break periods from past questions.  If you find out you’re wrong, it will affect your confidence.
• Look for key words in test questions that relate to ethnicity, gender, race, occupation, or geography as that could be a major clue to the answer.   
• Get plenty of rest - not just the night before, but the entire week before.

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The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a 3-day test crafted by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).  An M.D. must pass this exam before they’re allowed to apply for a license and practice medicine in the United States.  The fees for taking this exam vary, depending on whether you went to medical school in the U.S. and Canada or abroad.  The PASS Program offers a 4-week or 8-week preparation course for this important exam.

The USMLE assesses a doctor’s abilities to apply their knowledge, concepts, and principles, and to show important patient-centered skills, that are vital to medical treatment and are the foundation of effective care.  Each individual step of the USMLE complements the others and no one section may stand by itself in the evaluation of preparedness for medical licensure. 

The Three Steps

• Step 1
  Assesses whether medical school students or graduates understand and can apply important concepts of the basic sciences to the practice of medicine.  It covers a range of topics, both systemic and procedural, in subjects such as anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pathology, behavioral sciences, and more.  This is an 8-hour exam.
• Step 2 
  Broken out into two sections and is meant to address whether a recent graduate of medical school can apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired to understanding clinical science and patient care through simulated patient interactions (Step 2-CS) and a written multiple choice test (Step 2-CK).  This takes approximately 9 hours.
• Step 3 
  Traditionally taken at the end of the first year of residency for U.S. students or for foreign medical graduates, before starting a U.S. residency.  This step is a 16-hour examination spread out over two days, which includes a multiple choice written test and clinical case simulations.

The PASS Program Edge

93% of PASS Program students succeed on their licensing exams.  Our unique approach works in reverse of traditional teaching and begins with high concepts as opposed to starting with the hundreds of relatable facts that leads up to it.  Having a fuller understanding of top-down clinical science is more beneficial than rote memorization of myriad symptoms because it changes the way you think about a specific problem. Our students are trained to first focus on the normal physiological processes of the body and the biochemistry involved in those processes.  The more aware you become of that, the more patterns start to emerge.  Check out our four and eight week courses and see if the PASS Program is right for you.

Learn More About The USMLE

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According to this article on Medical News Today, a study conducted in the UK revealed that new physicians feel inadequately prepared to care for acutely ill patients. Over the next few weeks, we will be discussing some key acute and critical conditions that future (and current!) physicians should be especially aware of.

One of the most common disorders and most potentially deadly that we see in the Medical ICU is sepsis. Sepsis can occur quickly and, if not recognized and treated swiftly, can kill a patient in a matter of hours. Remember this: A systemic inflammatory response + infection = sepsis. A systemic inflammatory response (SIRS) can occur when there is an insult to the body that causes a cellular reaction that initiates “a number of mediator-induced inflammatory and immune responses” (Gabbard, 2012).

Two or more of the following symptoms indicates a systemic inflammatory response:

In essence, sepsis is basically SIRS caused by an infection or infections – usually gram negative and usually originating in the urinary or respiratory systems. Familiarizing yourself with the pathophysiology of sepsis is of fundamental importance.  It is believed to start with activation of the clotting cascade and RBC abnormality that leads to endothelial injury, mitochondrial dysfunction, vasodilation, and fluid redistribution (Gabbard, 2012). When a patient starts to become agitated and restless, as well as tachypnic, tachycardic and hypotensive, these are classic warning signs of sepsis. If left untreated, this process will progress to severe sepsis and ultimately septic shock, which brings with it a rather grim prognosis.

Proactively speaking, the best way to prevent sepsis from even occurring is by treating the underlying infection which causes the response. However, oftentimes sepsis will worsen regardless. The latest critical care guidelines recommend treatment of septic shock with a “Six hour resuscitation bundle” of broad-spectrum antibiotics, aggressive fluid replacement with normal saline, dobutamine and/or blood transfusions to achieve adequate ScvO2 (which measures the oxygen saturation in venous blood returning to the heart and reflect the balance between oxygen delivery and oxygen consumption), and vasopressors to maintain a mean arterial pressure (MAP) of >65 mm Hg (Gabbard, 2012).

References:

Gabbard, E. (2012). Multisystem. CCRN certification exam review. MedEd. www.MedEdSeminars.net

Rattue, P. (2011).  Newly qualified doctors feel unprepared to look after acutely ill patients, Medical News Today Retrieved from http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/239309.php

2012 is bringing with it changes to the USMLE examination format and content areas, and, whether or not you have already taken a Step (or 2), you may want to familiarize yourself with these changes. A sample of the modification . . .

Six-time limit to pass any USMLE Step (including incomplete attempts).

Effective:

Follow the PASS Program concepts, and you shouldn’t have to take any USMLE Step more than once, much less six times!

Also, according to usmle.org, effective June 17, 2012, the Communication and Interpersonal Skills (CIS) portion of the USMLE Step 2 CS exam has been expanded to assess a wider range of competency (i.e. It will be more extensive) and will focus on five sections:

For more info about the examination changes, and the USMLE, in general, please become familiar with the USMLE Bulletin at ww.usmle.org/bulletin/