USMLE Step 3 Tutor

The Boards Professor is led by Dr. Shauhin “Sean” Moazezi, DO, a board-certified internist who teaches full time. We tutor USMLE Step 3 one-on-one, online over Zoom, with a study schedule built around your test date and your life.

What Step 3 tutoring looks like

• A customized study schedule around your timeline, your weak spots, and your life, and we hold you to it.
• Practice exams tracked so we can adjust fast.
• A progress dashboard that keeps every score, trend, resource and session recording in one place.

How Step 3 is set up

USMLE describes Step 3 as a two-day examination with multiple-choice questions and computer-based case simulations (Step 3 exam format and content).

Day 1: Foundations of Independent Practice

• 232 multiple-choice items divided into 12 blocks of 18 to 20 items, with 30 minutes allotted for each block.
• About 7 hours in the test session, including 55 minutes of break time.
• Emphasis on foundational sciences, biostatistics, epidemiology, medical literature interpretation, social sciences, communication, ethics, patient safety, and the fundamentals of clinical diagnosis and management.

Day 2: Advanced Clinical Medicine

• 180 multiple-choice items divided into 9 blocks of 20 items, plus 13 to 14 case simulations, each allotted a maximum of 10 or 20 minutes.
• About 9 hours in the test session, with a minimum of 45 minutes of break time.
• Emphasis on applying comprehensive knowledge of health and disease to patient management, prognosis, health maintenance, therapeutics and medical decision-making.

Format details change, so confirm them on the official USMLE page before you schedule.

Attempt limits to know before you sit the exam

• You may not take the same Step more than three times within a 12-month period.
• Your fourth attempt must be at least 12 months after your first attempt at that examination and at least six months after your most recent attempt.
• If you have attempted a Step four or more times, including incomplete attempts, and have not passed, you are ineligible to apply for any Step.
• If you pass a Step, you are not allowed to retake it, except to comply with a time limit imposed by a U.S. medical licensing authority.

Source: the USMLE eligibility requirements. Rules change, so check the current USMLE Bulletin of Information before you schedule.

What Step 3 covers

USMLE publishes Step 3 content as percentage ranges by system and content area, and by physician task, and notes that percentages are subject to change at any time (USMLE Step 3 content outline).

By system or content area

By physician task or competency

USMLE lists the same ranges for the multiple-choice questions on day 1 (Foundations of Independent Practice) and day 2 (Advanced Clinical Medicine); on day 2 the last row is labelled Communication and Professionalism. USMLE also names three sites of care: ambulatory, inpatient facilities and the emergency department, without percentage ranges.

The largest system range is Biostatistics & Epidemiology/Population Health & Interpretation of the Medical Literature (11–13%), followed by the Cardiovascular System (9–11%). Step 3 weights patient management heavily: diagnosis (33–36%) and management (32–35%) together make up the bulk of the physician-task view.

USMLE Step 3 tutoring FAQ

How many days is USMLE Step 3?

USMLE describes Step 3 as a two-day examination: Foundations of Independent Practice on day 1 and Advanced Clinical Medicine on day 2.

Does Step 3 include case simulations?

Yes. According to USMLE, day 2 includes 13 to 14 computer-based case simulations alongside 180 multiple-choice items.

How many times can I take Step 3?

USMLE allows no more than three attempts at the same Step in a 12-month period, and a person who has attempted a Step four or more times without passing is ineligible to apply for any Step.

Do you tutor Step 3?

Yes. We prepare students for USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CK and Step 3, COMLEX Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3, and ABIM boards. See our Step 1 and Step 2 CK tutoring pages too.

How do I get started?

Book a free intro consult, a 20-minute phone call. Sessions after that are held online over Zoom.

What does USMLE Step 3 cover?

USMLE publishes percentage ranges by system and by physician task. Biostatistics, epidemiology and interpretation of the medical literature has the largest system range at 11 to 13%, and patient care diagnosis (33 to 36%) and management (32 to 35%) lead the physician-task view.

Which clinical settings does Step 3 test?

USMLE names three sites of care: ambulatory, inpatient facilities and the emergency department. It does not give percentage ranges for them.