Dr. Joseph I. Shapiro, dean of the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine at Marshall University, today announced that 64 members of the Class of 2014 have passed the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1, marking a 100 percent pass rate for Marshall students taking the test.
The national exam is taken at the end of the second year of medical school and students must pass in order to continue into the third year of training.
“I am thrilled with our students’ outstanding performance on Step 1. They have put in hours and hours of studying and are deserving of our praise for this historical accomplishment,” Shapiro said. “I also want to publicly commend our dedicated faculty and staff for their service and commitment to the medical school and our students.”
Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education Dr. Aaron McGuffin congratulated class members for their exceptional performance, which included a mean score of 227. This score is higher than the 2011 national mean, which was 224. The 2012 national mean will be released later this year.
McGuffin said, “This is a tribute to their hard work and dedication in concert with the excellent teaching provided by our basic science and clinical faculty. We at the medical school are privileged to be a part of continuing to produce the best and the brightest students for tomorrow’s physician workforce.”
The United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) is a multi-part professional exam. All three steps of the USMLE exam must be passed before a physician with an M.D. degree is eligible to apply for an unrestricted license to practice medicine in the United States.
