USMLE & COMLEX Tutor in Tennessee

Tennessee has five MD schools and two DO colleges, and Nashville holds three of the MD schools: Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (1873), Meharry Medical College (1876) and Belmont University Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine (2023) (school list). Only two of the seven are public: East Tennessee State University's Quillen College in Johnson City and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis (school list).

Home-state shares differ sharply: 89.1% of the 2025-26 entering class at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and 82.1% at Quillen came from Tennessee, against 6.3% at Vanderbilt and 11.3% at Meharry (AAMC FACTS).

Medical schools in Tennessee

Several of these schools teach students at more than one site: University of Tennessee College of Medicine also lists Chattanooga, Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee; Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine also lists Knoxville, Tennessee.

School list: LCME and COCA accreditation lists, via the list of medical schools in the United States, checked October 2026.

Teaching hospitals in Tennessee by city

• Nashville: Skyline Medical Center; Vanderbilt University Medical Center; Saint Thomas West Hospital; Metro Nashville General Hospital; Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital; Tristar Centennial Medical Center; Southern Hills Medical Center
• Memphis: Baptist Mem Hospital Memphis; Methodist H/C Memphis Hospt.; Regional One Health; St. Francis Hospital
• Kingsport: Holston Valley Hosp & Med Ctr; Indian Path Community Hospital
• Chattanooga: Memorial Health Care System INC.; Erlanger Medical Center
• Jackson: Jackson-Madison County General Hosp
• Bristol: Bristol Regional Medical Center
• Knoxville: University of Tennessee Medical Center
• Murfreesboro: Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital
• Johnson City: Johnson City Medical Center
• Covington: Baptist Mem Hospital Tipton County
• Smyrna: Tristar Stonecrest Medical Center

Facts about Tennessee

Accreditation: LCME directory; applications, places and in-state share: AAMC FACTS, Table A-1.

ABIM internal medicine certification exam by residency program: ABIM residency program pass rates; ABIM says to read rates from under 25 takers with caution.

• Quillen's TRAILS curriculum has a 17-month (3-semester) pre-clerkship phase with clinical experience from the first year, 9 weeks of summer vacation between the first and second year, and 6 weeks of USMLE Step 1 study time in the spring of the M2 year. (East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine)
• Quillen's Rural Primary Care Track runs through all four years for a small cohort and takes an average of 4 hours a week in the pre-clerkship years, scheduled on the weekly self-directed study day. (Quillen College of Medicine)
• UTHSC enrolls more than 3,000 students on four major campuses, Memphis (the main campus), Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville; its core teaching hospitals outside Memphis are UT Medical Center in Knoxville, Erlanger Health System in Chattanooga and Ascension Saint Thomas in Nashville. (University of Tennessee Health Science Center)
• The College of Medicine - Chattanooga has more than 250 students on clinical rotations and over 200 residents and fellows, and more than 100 medical students do core rotations in Knoxville. (University of Tennessee Health Science Center)
• Vanderbilt's preclinical phase lasts 13 months, six foundational science courses of 6-12 weeks each; the second year is six core clerkships of four to eight weeks, and years 3-4 form the Immersion Phase, including a 3-6 month mentored research project. (Vanderbilt University School of Medicine)
• In the 2025 Main Residency Match, programs in Tennessee offered 936 residency positions in 26 specialties, the most in internal medicine (273), family medicine (136), and surgery (75). (NRMP)

Sources: LCME, directory of accredited U.S. programs (checked October 29, 2026); AAMC FACTS, Table A-1, 2025-2026 (checked October 29, 2026); East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine, MD Curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); Quillen College of Medicine, Rural Primary Care Track (checked November 1, 2026); University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Campuses (checked November 1, 2026); Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, MD curriculum (checked November 1, 2026); NRMP, 2025 Main Residency Match by state and specialty (checked October 29, 2026); ABIM, residency program pass rates 2023-2025 (checked October 29, 2026).

Three Tennessee curricula, three Step 1 timelines

Tennessee's schools do not schedule the exams the same way. At East Tennessee State's Quillen College, the pre-clerkship phase runs 17 months over 3 semesters, with 9 weeks of summer break after the first year and 6 weeks of USMLE Step 1 study time in the spring of the second year (Quillen curriculum). Six weeks is short, so we start Quillen students on question banks during the organ-system courses and keep the dedicated weeks for review and practice exams.

Vanderbilt compresses the preclinical phase into 13 months of six foundational science courses, puts six core clerkships of four to eight weeks in the second year, and spends years 3 and 4 on the Immersion Phase, which includes a 3 to 6 month mentored research project (Vanderbilt curriculum). A student who takes the clerkships before the long research block has to plan where each Step falls around it.

The University of Tennessee College of Medicine teaches on four major campuses, Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville; Chattanooga alone has more than 250 students on clinical rotations, and more than 100 medical students do core rotations in Knoxville (UTHSC campuses). The shelf exams are the same wherever a UT student rotates; tutoring by live video (Zoom or Google Meet) keeps the plan the same too.

Rural training in East Tennessee

Quillen also runs a Rural Primary Care Track for a small cohort across all four years. In the pre-clerkship years it takes an average of 4 hours a week, scheduled on the weekly self-directed study day, so track students give up some of the time other classmates use for board review; we fit their question-bank schedule around that day.

Residency in Tennessee

In the 2025 Main Residency Match, Tennessee programs offered 936 positions in 26 specialties: 273 in internal medicine, 136 in family medicine, 75 in surgery, 68 in pediatrics and 56 in emergency medicine (NRMP).

The state's largest internal medicine program by ABIM first-time takers in 2023-2025 was Vanderbilt University Medical Center's in Nashville, with 138; East Tennessee State's Johnson City program had 37 and the University of Tennessee Medical Center at Knoxville 38 (ABIM). Residents in all of them go on to the ABIM internal medicine exam.

Which board exams Tennessee students take

Tennessee's five MD schools, East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine, Meharry Medical College, Belmont University Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine, University of Tennessee College of Medicine and Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, prepare students for the USMLE: Step 1, reported pass/fail only since January 26, 2022, Step 2 CK and Step 3 (USMLE).

Lincoln Memorial University DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate and Baptist Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Memphis send DO students to COMLEX-USA: Level 1, Level 2-CE and Level 3 (NBOME).

Graduates heading into internal medicine meet the ABIM exam, where 2023-2025 first-time pass rates were 94% of 138 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and 100% of 37 at East Tennessee State's Johnson City program (ABIM).

Tennessee licensing rules that affect your exam plan

Tennessee licenses MDs and DOs through separate boards with very different rules. The medical board requires proof of ABMS board certification after more than four failures on any USMLE Step, and wants all three Steps passed within ten years of the first one passed (FSMB). The osteopathic board lists three attempts and no COMLEX time limit (FSMB).

Tennessee Medical board

Tennessee Osteopathic board

Source: FSMB state licensure requirements, checked October 2026; confirm with the board before relying on them.

What Tennessee's rules mean for how you study

• Tennessee's medical board requires proof of ABMS board certification after more than four failures on a Step (FSMB); the USMLE program stops at four per Step (USMLE eligibility rules).
• Tennessee's medical board wants all three Steps passed within ten years of your first pass, unless you qualify under an exception (FSMB). A research gap after Step 1 uses that clock, so date the other two early.
• The osteopathic board lists three attempts but not whether that counts per Level or in total, and sets no COMLEX time limit (FSMB). Ask the board how it counts before you plan any retake.
• Tennessee asks for one year of training before a first license on either board, and three years for international graduates on the medical board (FSMB). IMGs aiming for Tennessee programs should plan the longer path from the start.

Many Tennessee students rotate, interview or match next door. Tennessee's neighbors on our list: Alabama (2 MD, 2 DO), Arkansas (2 MD, 1 DO), Georgia (4 MD, 1 DO), Kentucky (2 MD, 1 DO), Mississippi (1 MD, 1 DO), Missouri (4 MD, 2 DO), North Carolina (4 MD, 1 DO), Virginia (4 MD, 2 DO).

How much Tennessee searches for board prep

Tennessee lands mid-table on every term, never ranking higher than 20th of 51 (Google Trends, United States, October 2021 to October 2026). “COMLEX” is its best at 20th, ahead of “USMLE” at 29th; “USMLE Step 1” is 27th, “Shelf exam” 31st and “USMLE Step 2” 32nd. With five MD schools and two DO colleges, the two exam series draw comparable interest, with COMLEX edging ahead.

Source: Google Trends, United States, past 5 years, retrieved October 2026; ranks show relative interest, not student numbers.