Predictors of USMLE Step 1 Outcomes: Charting Successful Study Habits
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Predictors of USMLE Step 1 Outcomes: Charting Successful Study Habits Ryan W.R. Guilbault 1 & Sang W. Lee 2 & Brad Lian 3 & Jaehwa Choi 4
# International Association of Medical Science Educators 2020
Abstract Background The United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 is a test that affects many aspects of medical students’ careers. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of various studying habits and academic traits. Activity A survey concerning Step 1 study habits and scores was collected and analyzed. Results and Discussion Study results showed that preclinical curriculum grades, practice test scores, and the number of practice questions completed were positively correlated with Step 1 scores. The strongest predictor of Step 1 scores was preclinical curriculum grades: each unit increase in a letter grade was associated with a 12-point increase in Step 1 scores. Keywords USMLE Step 1 . Preclinical curriculum grades . Commercial question bank . Study time duration
Background The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) consists of three sequential examinations taken during medical education. The USMLE Step 1 (Step 1) assesses the examinee’s fund of knowledge in basic science and the ability to apply it to medical practice. Primarily, a satisfactory Step 1 score serves as a prerequisite to taking the next series of USMLE Step exams and to advancing in medical school curricula. Secondarily, Step 1 scores are regularly cited as the main criterion for evaluation of medical residency applicants, with higher Step 1 scores correlated with applicant acceptance at more competitive training programs [1]. Residency programs emphasize Step 1 scores due to various studies associating higher Step 1 scores with better performance on future professional certification exams and residency clinical
* Jaehwa Choi [email protected] 1
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, 601 North Caroline Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
2
Department of General Surgery, Medical College of Georgia, 1120 15th Street, Augusta, GA 30912, USA
3
Department of Community Medicine, Mercer University School of Medicine, 1501 Mercer University Drive, Macon, GA, USA
4
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Mercer University School of Medicine, 1501 Mercer University Drive, Macon, GA 31207, USA
performance [2, 3]. Therefore, medical students, faculty, and others with a vested interest in medical student success are often in search of methods for improving Step 1 scores. Traditionally emphasized variables such as higher undergraduate science and overall grades, the selectivity of undergraduate schools, higher Medical College Admission Test scores, and higher early medical school basic science grades have been shown to be moderately-to-strongly associated with higher Step 1 scores [4–6]. Demographic factors (e.g., sex, age, and race) [4–6] and variables such as style of basic medical science teaching, parental income, student learning style, student perceptions of learning enviro
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