If the AMC Clinical Exam Pass Rate Scares You, Read This
Read time: 6 minutes
In every coaching group I’ve ever run with simulated patients, fear arrives before the candidate does.
She sat down and tried to smile at the simulated patient.
Her hands were shaking.
Not subtle.
Obvious.
Sweaty palms.
A straightforward thyroid examination collapsed into a performance failure.
She wasn’t stupid.
She wasn’t lazy.
She had trained for the wrong problem.
Then she said the sentence I hear too often.
“The pass rate is so low. I don’t think I can do this.”
The cause wasn’t ignorance.
It was anticipation.
Fear of failure.
Fear of another attempt.
Fear of time slipping.
And she’s not alone.
Fear changes behaviour.
It pushes candidates toward more notes, more lectures, more “studying”.
And it pulls them away from the behaviours this exam actually rewards.
If you misunderstand what the pass rate is telling you, you will train for the wrong problem.
Fear has a reason.
The AMC Clinical Exam has transformed dramatically over the past fifteen years, but one pattern remains: the pass rate keeps falling.
Behind those percentages are careers delayed, visas extended, and families waiting.
Understanding this pattern matters—because when you can see why the numbers dropped, you can also see what still sits within your control.
Performance, Not Knowledge, Decides This Exam.
Let’s Start With The Facts, Not The Fear.
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2008–2010: pass rates were stable at ~60–62%
2008: 62.07%
2009: 60.3%
2010: 61.5% -
By 2015: pass rate by candidate counts fell to ~30%
588 passes out of 1,979 candidates (~29.7%) -
2019–20 to 2022–23: pass rates sat mostly in the mid-20s, with a low point around ~21%
2019–20: 29%
2020–21: 26%
2021–22: 21%
2022–23: 24% -
March 2024: AMC changed the pass mark from 10/14 scored stations to 9/14, with 14 scored and 2 unscored stations (16 total).
This will likely increase pass rates slightly, though we do not yet have post-change trend data.
Those are the defensible numbers. Nothing more. Nothing less.
