What to look for in a USMLE tutoring services

Anyone studying towards the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) is well aware that this is not an easy pass. Fortunately, there are many online courses, forum discussions, reading material, and practice question banks that can assist, but without a doubt, a USMLE tutor is one of the best ways to get to grips with the content and prepare yourself for the big exam.

USMLE tutoring services

But before partnering with a USMLE tutor, there are a few elements you have to consider. Here’s a checklist for the ultimate USMLE tutoring service:

1. USMLE experience

Understandably intimate knowledge of the USMLE Step 1 exam – and beyond – is vital, but this is effectively twofold.

–          Exam experience

The tutor you partner with will need to have performed well on the USMLE Step1 exam his- or herself. This means scoring around 250+ on the exam with fairly recent experience in medical school. You want to know that you are working with someone who has successfully been through the process and can provide you with valuable insights into passing.

–          Tutoring experience

Beyond personal experience with the USMLE Step 1, the tutor must have some form of tutoring experience. The top student in the class may understand the content well, but conveying that to another individual is not easy. The person you partner with must be a trained educator with the ability to deal with various learning styles.

2. Availability

You are obviously limited in terms of your medical school schedule so it’s important that your tutor has some flexibility when it comes to working out a tutoring program for you. While they will probably be tutoring other medical students, they should have sufficient capacity to meet your scheduling needs and tutoring requirements. It’s often best to work off a linked calendar which can be updated as appointments arise.

3. Customized programs

You need to check what access the tutoring service has to which resources, and which are the preferred resource types – practice tests, flashcards, Qbank, or any others. But beyond the resources and programs used, the tutor must be able to customize the resources to your particular learning style, otherwise, the role of the tutor is null and void.  

4. Tutoring format

Many tutoring services offer online tutoring which has risen in popularity amidst ongoing social distancing requirements. But more than this, online tutoring is accessible to USMLE students across the USA as well as abroad, and every session can be recorded and reviewed. It saves on time and travel costs and makes scheduling tutoring sessions that much easier. It’s also important to establish the best way to contact your tutor and share your preferred method of communication going forwards.

5. Reputation

The tutoring services you decide on must be accompanied by a well-entrenched reputation within the medical fraternity. The organization should have established partnerships with leading universities, impressive testimonials, and staff sourced from top schools.

6. Professionalism

The tutoring service should have some form of accountability to ensure that both you and your tutor are available at the agreed-upon times. In addition, you should be able to track exactly how many hours you’ve paid for – or will be paying for – with a clear indication of what has been accomplished in each session, and the goals set for the future.

7. Integrated benefits

A quality USMLE Step 1 tutoring service will have additional study benefits, such as access to top-level resources and membership to e-learning platforms. This means you’re able to cover all your bases in terms of USMLE Step 1 readiness, while also enjoying the insight and instruction of a highly-skilled professional.

If you’ve found a USMLE tutoring service that ticks all these boxes, you can be assured you’re on the right track to successfully pass the USMLE Step 1 exam.