USMLE Step 1

The USMLE Step 1 (more commonly just Step 1 or colloquially, The Boards) is the first part of the United States Medical Licensing Examination. It assesses whether medical school students or graduates can apply important concepts of the sciences fundamental to the practice of medicine. US medical students, as well as Canadian medical students who wish to seek licensure in the US, typically take Step 1 at the end of the second year of medical school. Graduates of international medical schools (i.e., those outside the US or Canada) must also take Step 1 if they want to practice in the US. Graduates from international medical schools must apply through ECFMG, and the registration fee is $850. For 2015, the NBME registration fee for the test is $590, with additional charges for applicants who choose a testing region outside the United States or Canada.

Format

The exam is an eight-hour computer-based test taken in a single-day, composed of seven 44-question sections with a total of 308 multiple-choice questions. One hour is provided for each section, allotting an average of a minute and eighteen seconds to answer each question. Between test sections, the test taker is allotted a cumulative 45 minutes (during the test day) for personal breaks. (There is a 15-minute tutorial at the beginning of the exam, which the test-taker can choose to skip and have that time added to break time.) If the taker finishes any section before the allotted one hour time limit, the unused time is added to the break time total. The test is administered at any of several Prometric computer testing sites.

Step

Step or Steps may refer to:

Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship founded in 1935 (two years after the end of Prohibition in the United States in December 1933) by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. AA stated "primary purpose" is to help alcoholics "stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety". With other early members Bill Wilson and Bob Smith developed AA's Twelve Step program of spiritual and character development. AA's initial Twelve Traditions were introduced in 1946 to help the fellowship be stable and unified while disengaged from "outside issues" and influences.

The Traditions recommend that members and groups remain anonymous in public media, altruistically helping other alcoholics and avoiding official affiliations with other organization. The Traditions also recommend that those representing AA avoid dogma and coercive hierarchies. Subsequent fellowships such as Narcotics Anonymous have adopted and adapted the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions to their respective primary purposes.

United States Medical Licensing Examination

The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is a multi-part professional exam sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). Physicians with an M.D. degree are required to pass this examination before being permitted to practice medicine in the United States; see below for requirements of physicians with a D.O. degree.

Purpose

The USMLE assesses a physician's ability to apply knowledge, concepts, and principles, and to determine fundamental patient-centered skills that are important in health and disease and that constitute the basis of safe and effective patient care. Examination committees composed of medical educators and clinicians from across the United States and its territories prepare the examination materials each year.

Overview

Sandy B

Sandra Barber is a House music and dance music singer from New York City who uses the stage name Sandy B.

Music career

She is primarily known for two of her solo records which reached #1 on Billboard's Dance/Club Play chart, "Make the World Go Round" and "Ain't No Need To Hide" in 1996 and 1997, respectively. Both songs were produced by the duo Deep Dish. Stonebridge (DJ) remixes of "Make The World Go Round" were also released.

In an unusual reversal of the conventional music industry success story, Sandy B had her #1 hits after leaving a major record label for an indie label. Though her two chart toppers were released on Champion Records, her debut #1 single "Feel Like Singin" had been released in 1992 on Nervous Records. She also released a single "Back Together" in 1994 on King Street Sounds.

After "Make The World Go Round" hit #1, Nervous included the David Morales remix of "Feel Like Singin" on the dance compilation album, 100% Pure Dance.

In 1998 Sandy B had an on-screen appearance in the movie Donnie Brasco, starring Al Pacino and Johnny Depp.