Cost Of USMLE Step 1 Exam In Nigeria (2024)

This post looks at the current cost of USMLE Step 1 exam in Nigeria in this year 2024. It is a test taken by many medical doctors in Nigeria and other countries, who wish to practice medicine in the United States of America. The USMLE is America’s version of the PLAB exam and we shall take a look at the Step 1 of this international professional examination as we proceed.

USMLE STEP 1 EXAM: WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

USMLE is an acronym for United States Medical Licensing Examination. It is a three-step international professional examination that is taken in order to be licensed to practice as a medical doctor in the United States. This exam is sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards and the National Board of Medical Examiners. In order to pass all three steps of this exam, you as a candidate are required to put in a lot of hard work in your study time as the test is for highly cerebral people. All three steps of the USMLE exam must be passed before a medical practitioner is eligible to apply for an unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States.

USMLE Step 1 tests your understanding of the application of important concepts of the sciences that are fundamental to the medical practice, with special importance given to the principles and mechanisms underlying health, disease, and modes of therapy. Step 1 of the USMLE exams makes sure that you as a candidate not only masters the sciences that provide a foundation for the safe and competent practice of medicine in the present, but also the scientific principles that are required for the maintenance of competence through lifelong learning.

USMLE Step 1 is constructed according to an integrated content outline that organizes basic science material along two dimensions: system and process. The Step 1 test is a one-day examination that is divided into seven 60-minute blocks and administered in one 8-hour testing session. The number of questions per block on a given examination form will vary, but will not exceed 40. The total number of items on the overall examination form will not exceed 280.

The USMLE Content Outline organizes content based on general principles and individual organ systems. Exam questions are grouped into one of eighteen (18) major areas, and this is dependent 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 further divided according to normal and abnormal processes, including principles of therapy. Each USMLE Step 1 examination covers content related to the following traditionally defined disciplines: anatomy, behavioral sciences, biochemistry, biostatistics and epidemiology, Microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, and physiology

The USMLE Step 1 examination also covers content related to the following interdisciplinary areas such as: genetics, aging, immunology, nutrition, and molecular and cell biology.

ELIGIBILITY FOR USMLE STEP 1 FOR NIGERIAN MEDICAL DOCTORS 

Before proceeding to take the USMLE Step 1 test, it is important that you know the criteria that qualifies you for taking the exams. These eligibility requirements include the following:

• You must be an official medical student already in, or a graduate of a US or Canadian medical school. The medical school programme must lead to MD degree and must be accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME)
• Also, You must be an official medical student already in, or a graduate of a US medical school. The medical school programme must lead to DO degree and should be accredited by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA)
• Lastly, you must be an official medical student already in, or a graduate of a medical school outside the US and Canada. The school must be listed in the World Directory of medical schools and meet the ECFMG eligibility requirement. This third requirement suits Nigerian doctors who are resident in Nigeria.

CURRENT COST OF USMLE STEP 1 IN NIGERIA 2024 

As aforementioned, the USMLE exams are in three steps but we are mainly focused on step 1. Currently, in this year 2024, the cost of USMLE Step 1 in Nigeria is $1045. This fee is slightly higher than that paid by US and Canadian citizens and these extra costs allocated to international medical students is due to ECFMG certification plus the International Test delivery charge.

USMLE 1 EXAMINATION CENTRES FOR NIGERIAN MEDICAL DOCTORS

The USMLE Step 1 examination is conducted in many Prometric Test Centres in several countries of the world. The Agency, Prometric, is the officially recognized organization in charge of the USMLE tests.

In Africa today, there are only a handful of Prometric Test Centres, and they are available in just four (4) countries which are: Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. There used to be a Prometric Test Centre in Nigeria but this centre was discontinued as a result of exam irregularities. Presently, the nearest Prometric Test Centre for USMLE Step 1 applicants in Nigeria is in Ghana.