USMLE Step 2 CK Tutor

The Boards Professor is led by Dr. Shauhin “Sean” Moazezi, DO, a board-certified internist. Our USMLE Step 2 tutoring covers Step 2 CK one-on-one, online by live video (Zoom or Google Meet), with a study schedule built around your test date and, if you are in clinical rotations, your rotation schedule. Still in clerkships? We also tutor shelf exams.

Updated November 2, 2026 · The Boards Professor, founded by Dr. Sean Moazezi, DO.

What Step 2 CK tutoring looks like

• A customized study schedule around your timeline, your weak spots, and your life, and we hold you to it.
• Your Anki deck rebuilt around evidence-based spaced repetition, with no thousand-cards-a-day grind.
• Practice exams tracked so we can adjust fast.

In tutoring sessions we work through practice questions together, focus on your weak areas, and build test-taking strategies for the question types that slow you down. See the questions students ask most.

How Step 2 CK is set up

For exams taken on or after May 7, 2026, USMLE describes Step 2 CK as a one-day examination divided into sixteen 30-minute blocks and administered in one 9-hour testing session, with no more than 20 questions per block and a minimum of 55 minutes of break time. Before that date it was eight 60-minute blocks. Details change, so confirm them on the official USMLE Step 2 CK page.

For break rules, score release timing and retake limits in one place, see our Step 2 CK length, timing and scoring guide.

USMLE says Step 2 CK assesses an examinee’s ability to apply medical knowledge, skills, and understanding of clinical science essential for the provision of patient care under supervision.

Step 2 CK attempt rules and your application timeline

Step 2 CK is scored, and a failed attempt stays on your transcript, so it pays to know the limits before you pick a date close to application season.

• No more than three Step 2 CK sittings inside one 12-month period.
• Sitting number four needs a gap: a year after your first Step 2 CK and half a year after your last.
• Four tries without passing, with incomplete tries counted, makes you ineligible for all USMLE Steps.
• Once Step 2 CK is passed you cannot take it again to raise the score, except to meet a U.S. licensing authority time limit.

Source: the USMLE eligibility requirements. These limits are set in the USMLE Bulletin, which changes, so check it before you register for Step 2 CK.

Who we tutor

• Third- and fourth-year students taking Step 2 CK during or after core clerkships
• International medical graduates who need a strong Step 2 CK score for their application
• Students retaking Step 2 CK after a failed attempt

Who tutors Step 2 CK

Five of our tutors teach Step 2 CK. Each works one-on-one by live video (Zoom or Google Meet), and you can change tutor or add a second one for a weak area.

• Dr. Shauhin “Sean” Moazezi, DO, a board-certified internist and our founder, who has written board exam questions for about nine and a half years.
• Dr. Sahith Valluru, who builds each student a step-by-step plan and works on staying calm and focused under exam conditions.
• Alexandra Llovet, an MD/PhD student in epidemiology at Emory, who teaches clinical frameworks, test-taking and biostatistics.
• Dr. Chelsi Flippo, MD, a pediatric endocrinologist and assistant professor of pediatrics who runs board prep sessions for students and residents.
• Dante Magdici, who specializes in Step 1 and Step 2 CK and works through why each missed question was missed.

What Step 2 CK tutoring costs

One-on-one Step 2 CK tutoring is $349 per 50-minute session, online by live video (Zoom or Google Meet). Packages bring the per-session cost down: 10 classes for $2,999 or 15 for $3,999 (pricing details). The first step is a free intro consult, a 20-minute phone call, so you can ask about your timeline before you pay for anything.

Each session is written up by a scribe, usually within a day: the goals you set, the test-taking points from the questions you worked, and every missed fact as a question-and-answer item. You can send questions between sessions.

What Step 2 CK covers

USMLE publishes the Step 2 CK content outline as percentage ranges by system and discipline, by physician task and by clinical science, and adds that percentages are subject to change at any time (USMLE Step 2 CK content outline).

By clinical science

Clinical science	Range
Medicine	55–65
Pediatrics	17–27
Obstetrics & Gynecology	10–20
Psychiatry	10–15
Surgery	5–15

By physician task or competency

Competency	Range
Patient Care: Diagnosis	16–20
Patient Care: Laboratory/Diagnostic Studies	13–17
Patient Care: Mixed Management	12–16
Patient Care: Pharmacotherapy	8–12
Patient Care: Clinical Interventions	6–10
Patient Care: Health Maintenance/Disease Prevention	5–10
Patient Care: Prognosis/Outcome	5–9
Systems-based Practice & Patient Safety	5–7
Professionalism	5–7
Practice-based Learning & Improvement	3–5

USMLE lists Medical Knowledge: Applying Foundational Science Concepts and Patient Care: History and Physical Exam at 0% for Step 2 CK.

By system or discipline

System or discipline	Range
Nutrition	15–20
Social Sciences: Legal/Ethical Issues & Professionalism/Systems-based Practice & Patient Safety	10–15
Renal & Urinary System & Reproductive Systems	7–13
Cardiovascular System	6–12
Musculoskeletal System/Skin & Subcutaneous Tissue	6–12
Behavioral Health	5–10
Blood & Lymphoreticular/Immune Systems	5–10
Gastrointestinal System	5–10
Nervous System & Special Senses	5–10
Respiratory System	5–10
Multisystem Processes & Disorders	4–8
Endocrine System	3–7
Pregnancy, Childbirth & the Puerperium	3–7
Biostatistics & Epidemiology/Population Health/Interpretation of Medical Literature	3–5
Human Development	2–4

By clinical science, Medicine carries the largest range (55–65%), followed by Pediatrics (17–27%). In the physician-task view, diagnosis (16–20%) and laboratory and diagnostic studies (13–17%) lead. Confirm the current ranges on the USMLE page before you build a study plan around them.

Step 2 CK pass rates

USMLE publishes pass rates by school type and attempt. Almost every first-time taker from a US MD school passes; repeat takers pass far less often, which is why we treat the first attempt as the one to get right (USMLE performance data).

USMLE Step 2 CK, July 2024 to June 2025. Checked October 28, 2026.

Examinees	Tested, 2024-2025	Passed
US MD school, first takers	22,249	98%
US MD school, repeaters	440	70%
US DO school, first takers	5,025	96%
US DO school, repeaters	32	69%
Non-US school, first takers	16,186	90%
Non-US school, repeaters	1,762	64%

Step 2 CK scores of matched applicants, by specialty

Passing is the floor; the score programs compare is much higher. In the 2026 Match, U.S. MD seniors who matched their preferred specialty had a median Step 2 CK of 253, against 244 for those who did not (NRMP Charting Outcomes 2026). A few specialties from the same report:

U.S. MD seniors who matched their preferred specialty, 2026 Main Residency Match.

Specialty	Mean, matched	Median, matched
Family Medicine	244	244
Psychiatry	246	247
Emergency Medicine	248	249
Pediatrics	249	249
Internal Medicine	252	254
Obstetrics and Gynecology	252	253
Dermatology	258	258
Orthopaedic Surgery	258	259

All 23 specialties, with the median of applicants who did not match, are on our Step 2 CK scores by specialty page. We set your practice-test target from the specialty you are applying to, not from 218.

Step 2 CK passing score and the new format

USMLE's minimum passing score for Step 2 CK is 218 for exams given on or after July 1, 2025, up from 214 (USMLE, results and scoring). For exams on or after May 7, 2026, Step 2 CK is sixteen 30-minute blocks in one 9-hour session, with no more than 20 questions per block and at least 55 minutes of break time (USMLE, Step 2 CK).

Shorter blocks change pacing. We practise at the 30-minute block length from the start so test day feels familiar, and we track practice scores against 218 with a margin, not just against the line.

Official practice for Step 2 CK

NBME's Comprehensive Clinical Science Self-Assessment is the official practice test for Step 2 CK: seven forms, from $62 each, four sections of 50 questions, and a score report with your estimated probability of passing (NBME CCSSA). USMLE also publishes free sample questions. We space the forms through your dedicated period and use each result to decide whether to keep or move your test date; see how we use NBME practice exams and the free Step 2 CK Free 120.

Sean's own preference is clear: he leans on NBME forms over commercial self-assessments as the checkpoint that decides a test date.