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When the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) suspended and then permanently cancelled the Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) test, the decision was celebrated widely by medical students across the country.
But for international medical graduates (IMGs), the change has left many scrambling to meet new requirements -- some of which present challenges that could ruin their chances of matching with a U.S. residency program, they say.
When the Step 2 CS was temporarily suspended last May for safety reasons related to the pandemic, the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) -- which certifies international students for residency in the U.S. -- subsequently announced in August that students would be required to take a new exam to assess their English proficiency, called the Occupational English Test (OET). They would also have to perform a clinical skills assessment via one of five pathways, ECFMG said.