USMLE STEP 1 Step 1 consists of
multiple-choice questions prepared by examination committees composed of
faculty members, teachers, investigators, and clinicians with recognized
prominence in their respective fields. Committee members are selected to
provide broad representation from the academic, practice, and licensing
communities across the United States and Canada. The test is designed to
measure basic science knowledge. Some questions test the examinee's fund of
information per se, but the majority of questions require the examinee to
interpret graphic and tabular material, to identify gross and microscopic
pathologic and normal specimens, and to solve problems through application of
basic science principles. Step 1 is constructed from an
integrated content outline that organizes basic science content according to
general principles and individual organ systems. Test questions are classified
in one of these major areas depending on whether they focus on concepts and
principles that are important across organ systems or within individual organ
systems. Sections focusing on individual
organ systems are subdivided according to normal and abnormal processes,
principles of therapy, and psychosocial, cultural, and environmental
considerations. Each examination covers content related to the traditionally
defined disciplines of anatomy, behavioral sciences, biochemistry,
microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology, as well as to
interdisciplinary areas including genetics, aging, immunology, nutrition, and
molecular and cell biology. While not all topics listed in the content
outline are included in every examination, overall content coverage is
comparable in the various examination forms that will be taken by different
examinees. The Step 1 content outline
describes the scope of the examination in detail but is not intended as a
curriculum development or study guide. It provides a flexible structure for
test construction that can readily accommodate new topics, emerging content
domains, and shifts in emphasis. The categorizations and content coverage are
subject to change. Broadly based learning that establishes a strong general
understanding of concepts and principles in the basic sciences is the best
preparation for the examination.