COMLEX Level 2 is taken during the third or fourth year of medical school. It consists of two parts, Level 2-CE, Cognitive Evaluation and Level 2-PE, Performance Evaluation.
What Content Does COMLEX Level 2-PE Cover?
Level 2-PE is a one-day, 7-hour clinical skills exam that utilizes standardized patients (actors) to simulate real-life patient encounters and test your clinical skills. You will have 12 patient encounters, each 14 minutes in duration. Following each encounter, candidates have 9 minutes to type a SOAP note. Level 2-PE is graded on a pass/fail basis.
What Content Does COMLEX Level 2-CE Cover?
Unlike Level 2-PE, Level 2-CE is graded on a competitive numerical scale. It is a multiple-choice, 8-hour exam, divided into two testing sessions of 4-hours each. Level 2-CE is a problem and symptoms-based exam that requires candidates to demonstrate knowledge of clinical concepts and medical decision-making. Level 2-CE tests emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, osteopathic principles, pediatrics, psychiatry and surgery.
How is COMLEX Level 2-CE Scored?
A passing score on Level 2-CE is 400, and the national average is approximately 540, with a standard deviation of about 100. Competitive specialties such as radiology and dermatology expect residency applicants to perform well on Level 2 CE. A strong performance on Level 2-CE bolsters your residency application significantly, making you a more competitive candidate for prestigious residency programs, especially if your Level 1 score wasn't ideal. Even if you did score well on Level 1, a strong performance on Level 2-CE demonstrates consistency and clinical excellence.
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