Contributing Writer
Standford University School of Medicine
Orly Farber is a fourth-year medical student class of 2021 at Stanford University School of Medicine in Palo Alto, California. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2015 with a BA in comparative human development, and then spent two years working in an allergy lab at the National Institutes of Health. In her free time, Orly enjoys running in the nearby foothills and cooking. She plans to pursue a career in surgery this coming year.
In a typical year, medical students have to pass this one final patient actor bonanza before they can become doctors. Like all other USMLE exams, Step 2 CS is eight hours long. However, this is the only Step exam that isn’t administered on a computer; rather, it’s offered at just five centers in the country, located in Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, and Los Angeles.
In a recent article entitled “In Defense of Step 2 Clinical Skills,” Dr. Ken Simons, senior associate dean for graduate medical education and accreditation at the Medical College of Wisconsin, argues the current student-led campaign to end the USMLE Step 2 CS examination is misguided and potentially dangerous.
One of the major expenses that future doctors face is the cost of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE). This test is given in three parts, spread out across a student’s training, in total costing over $3,000. The most expensive item by far is the Step 2 Clinical Skills test, whose registration fee comes in at a whopping $1,275.
Writer-in-Training
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
I am a first year medical student at Dartmouth and currently loving the rural New England lifestyle that I signed up for. I graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2013 where I majored in neuroscience and minored in philosophy. I also have a Masters in philosophy of medicine from King's College London. My interests include bioethics, end of life care, and neuroscience. When I am not hitting the books I can be found running, sailing, re-reading Harry Potter, singing to Taylor Swift, or snapping pictures.
