Talk:USMLE Step 2 Clinical Skills

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I'm a first year medical student and I recently heard about this clinical skills exam in talking with one of my physician mentors. Apparently, the cost of this exam is in excess of $1000 dollars, and it is held only in five select locations the nation, meaning that most medical students will also have to spend an additional several hundred dollars for traveling (airfare) and lodging (hotel).

In one editorial I just searched up, an additional $1000 in medical loans can equal about $5000 in lifetime debt for medical students (see http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/348/13/1294-a). This exam could cost up to $2000 or more for students if you take into account travel and lodging costs, which could be $10000 in additional lifetime debt.

According to the article, "It has been almost 40 years since a medical student was tested on his or her bedside manner before being licensed to practice medicine." My mentor also mentioned how the main purpose of this exam was to ensure that medical students were able to speak English, due to the large number of international medical residents coming to the US. It seems to me that this "new" exam just might not be very cost-effective, and adds just another financial burden to would-be doctors and the healthcare system overall.

I was wondering if there was any controversy on this new clinical exam at all, as to whether it was a cost-effective or practical aspect of medical education. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Oygp (talk • contribs) 23:36, 16 November 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I second Oygp's question. With something like a 96% pass rate among US medical graduates, it seems like a pretty big waste of money for students. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.97.104.192 (talk) 03:32, 30 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

In light of the recent announcement [1] should this article be rewritten in the past tense? Myoglobin (talk) 17:47, 28 January 2021 (UTC)[reply]