Kaplan Medical

A partnership for USMLE success

UMHS has partnered with Kaplan Medical and UWorld to provide our students with full access to all of their USMLE test prep resources for Steps 1 and 2. UMHS is the only offshore medical school that provides students access to Step 1 preparation resources throughout the Basic Science Program.

What sets us apart is that we offer our students a full, two-semester USMLE review program. The 5th-semester program incorporates the best resources to prepare students for Step 1, including Kaplan Medical Didactic Lectures, UWorld Question Bank, NBME Self-Assessments, and the Comprehensive Basic Science Examination developed by the National Board of Medical Examiners. Our Basic Science faculty are fully engaged in both review programs, which is a testament to their dedication to student success.

Upon transitioning into the sixth semester, students are automatically enrolled in Kaplan’s Step 2 CK exam preparation. This collaboration has contributed significantly to the remarkable success our students have achieved on the USMLE.  

Basic Science, St. Kitts (Step 1 preparation)

Through our partnership with Kaplan, we incorporate state-of-the-art eLearning experiences to complement the classroom and lab training in the Basic Science curriculum. Kaplan has years of experience and proven success in helping medical students prepare for the USMLE Step exams. In close collaboration, the vast array of Kaplan Medical online eLearning resources has been aligned to the UMHS curriculum. Starting from the very first semester, students can have access to Kaplan Medical Step 1 Prep On-Demand and QBank Integrated Plan resources. Both programs help guide students to master the Basic Science concepts necessary to become knowledgeable physicians and to succeed on the USMLE Step 1 exam. These programs monitor students’ progress and performance, providing important feedback to students and faculty that will identify areas for further improvement.  Students will also have full access to UWorld in EBS 5/Med 4 and the Maine 5th Semester. 

The Kaplan Medical Step 1 On-Demand program is a comprehensive library of over 220 hours of instructional videos. It also includes a collection of quizzes that enable students to gauge their mastery of the material covered in the videos. The program has a database of approximately 3,000 quiz and assessment questions. In addition to the question bank and library of videos, students will also have access to Kaplan’s USMLE Step 1 Lecture Notes eBook series. This series includes volumes dedicated to high-yield concepts in Anatomy, Behavioral Sciences, Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, Immunology and Microbiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, and Physiology.

The Step 1 QBank Integrated Plan consists of a focused set of instructional videos to help students truly master the highest-yield material. It also has an extensive question bank of over 2,000 assessment questions. These questions provide interactive feedback with detailed explanations and sources that students can review to better understand the concepts tested.

To help optimize the students’ experience, access to Kaplan resources has been embedded into the UMHS learning management system to seamlessly integrate the appropriate videos into the material being taught in a course. This enables students to focus on powerful eLearning resources directly linked to what they are learning in the classroom. Furthermore, students can conveniently access Kaplan content on their mobile devices. The integration of Kaplan resources into the curriculum, with ease of use and continuous feedback, ensures that our faculty can partner with our students through curricular success in direct preparation for the USMLE Step exams.

5th semester, Maine (Step 1 preparation)

Once students complete the Basic Science portion of medical school on St. Kitts, they transition to our Portland, Maine pre-clinical campus for their 5th semester. While in Maine they participate in an integrated semester consisting of Introduction to Clinical Medicine (MICM 1010) and Biological Basis of Clinical Medicine (MICM 1020; the Kaplan Review Course). This approach emphasizes the relationship between the basic sciences and clinical medicine, improving both understanding and preparation for USMLE Step 1.

The purpose of the Biological Basis of Clinical Medicine  is to prepare students to approach the NBME-USMLE Step 1 questions with the skills and competence necessary to pass the USMLE Step 1. The majority of Step 1 questions include clinical scenarios directly related to the UMHS Basic Science Program, helping with the development of knowledge and skills from the perspective of clinical relevance and application.

This integrated approach to the material allows for visiting professors from the Kaplan Medical Review program to lecture on topics including Biochemistry, Immunology, Microbiology, Physiology, Pharmacology, Genetics, and Pathology. There are also scheduled integrated systems-based lectures taught by Kaplan Medical Review faculty focused on the intersection of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Pathology of the body system, which coincides with the body systems covered in Introduction to Clinical Medicine each week. Each system-focused week will also be completed by an integrated question-based session, allowing students to work with each other to problem-solve USMLE Step 1-style questions in preparation for summative assessments.

During the course, students complete NBME and UWorld self-assessments to ensure students are prepared and ready to sit for Step 1. NBME and UWorld Self-Assessments can help:

As part of the integrated review program, students are given full access to UWorld, which is considered to be the best USMLE question bank in the United States and the best resource to prepare students for USMLE Step 1. Students interact with Basic Science Faculty in small groups to review and answer UWorld questions.  At the end of the semester, students will sit for the CBSE, which is comparable to USMLE Step 1.  Students completing the 5th semester will be prepared and ready to sit for Step 1. 

Clinical rotations (Step 2 preparation)

Upon passing USMLE Step 1, all students are automatically enrolled in Kaplan online review programs for USMLE Step 2 CK. These programs are ideal for when the student transitions into clinical rotations, and their busy, sometimes unpredictable schedules make a traditional review course impractical. The CK review is also beneficial for students preparing for their Clinical Shelf Examinations as well as the Comprehensive Clinical Science Examination (CCSE). 

Please note that our first-time pass rate on USMLE Step 2 CK is 94% with an average score of 230 (2024)

Step 2 CK On-Demand: On-demand Internet access to over 115 hours of online video lectures delivered by Kaplan's expert faculty. This online course includes 24/7 access to Kaplan’s full Step 2 CK video library with a menu that allows you to create a personalized study plan to customize your prep. Includes Kaplan’s new Lecture Notes, and Assessment Tests as well as Ebook lecture notes.

Step 2 CK Qbank:  Access to over 2,000 exam-like practice questions, and includes 1 diagnostic test and 2 full-length simulated exams, all written by master faculty and reviewed by high scorers. Detailed explanations and ReKap summaries, plus expert support from Kaplan’s academic team via email.