scholarly journals A comparison of orthopaedic surgery and internal medicine perceptions of USMLE Step 1 pass/fail scoring

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Mun ◽  
Alyssa R. Scott ◽  
David Cui ◽  
Erik B. Lehman ◽  
Seong Ho Jeong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
Residency Program ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
Program Director ◽  
Personal Knowledge ◽  
Clinical Knowledge ◽  
Alpha Omega ◽  
Residency Program Directors

Abstract Background United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 will transition from numeric grading to pass/fail, sometime after January 2022. The aim of this study was to compare how program directors in orthopaedics and internal medicine perceive a pass/fail Step 1 will impact the residency application process. Methods A 27-item survey was distributed through REDCap to 161 U.S. orthopaedic residency program directors and 548 U.S. internal medicine residency program directors. Program director emails were obtained from the American Medical Association’s Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database. Results We received 58 (36.0%) orthopaedic and 125 (22.8%) internal medicine program director responses. The majority of both groups disagree with the change to pass/fail, and felt that the decision was not transparent. Both groups believe that the Step 2 Clinical Knowledge exam and clerkship grades will take on more importance. Compared to internal medicine PDs, orthopaedic PDs were significantly more likely to emphasize research, letters of recommendation from known faculty, Alpha Omega Alpha membership, leadership/extracurricular activities, audition elective rotations, and personal knowledge of the applicant. Both groups believe that allopathic students from less prestigious medical schools, osteopathic students, and international medical graduates will be disadvantaged. Orthopaedic and internal medicine program directors agree that medical schools should adopt a graded pre-clinical curriculum, and that there should be a cap on the number of residency applications a student can submit. Conclusion Orthopaedic and internal medicine program directors disagree with the change of Step 1 to pass/fail. They also believe that this transition will make the match process more difficult, and disadvantage students from less highly-regarded medical schools. Both groups will rely more heavily on the Step 2 clinical knowledge exam score, but orthopaedics will place more importance on research, letters of recommendation, Alpha Omega Alpha membership, leadership/extracurricular activities, personal knowledge of the applicant, and audition electives.

Title: A Comparison of Orthopaedic Surgery and Internal Medicine Perceptions of USMLE Step 1 Pass/Fail Scoring: A National Program Director Survey

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick Mun ◽  
Alyssa R. Scott ◽  
David Cui ◽  
Erik B. Lehman ◽  
Seong Ho Jeong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Extracurricular Activities ◽  
Residency Program ◽  
Medical Schools ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
Program Director ◽  
Personal Knowledge ◽  
Clinical Knowledge ◽  
Alpha Omega ◽  
Residency Program Directors

Abstract Background United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 will transition from numeric grading to pass/fail, sometime after January 2022. The aim of this study was to compare how program directors in orthopaedics and internal medicine perceive a pass/fail Step 1 will impact the residency application process. Methods A 27-item, validated survey was distributed through REDCap to 197 U.S. orthopaedic residency program directors and 554 U.S. internal medicine residency program directors. Program director emails were obtained from the American Medical Association’s Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database. Results We received 58 (36.0%) orthopaedic and 125 (22.8%) internal medicine program director responses. The majority of both groups disagree with the change to pass/fail, and felt that the decision was not transparent. Both groups believe that the Step 2 Clinical Knowledge exam and clerkship grades will take on more importance. Compared to internal medicine, orthopaedic PDs have greater odds of emphasizing research (OR 6.43, CI 3.18-13.00, p < 0.001), letters of recommendation from known faculty (OR 3.22, CI 1.77–5.87, p < 0.001)), Alpha Omega Alpha membership (OR 4.96, CI 2.65–9.25, p < 0.001), leadership/extracurricular activities (OR 3.69, CI 1.96–6.95, p < 0.001), audition elective rotations (OR 6.20, CI 3.21–11.97, p < 0.001) and personal knowledge of the applicant (OR 2.93, CI 1.61–5.34, p < 0.001). Both groups believe that allopathic students from less prestigious medical schools, osteopathic students, and international medical graduates will be disadvantaged. Orthopaedic and internal medicine program directors agree that medical schools should adopt a graded pre-clinical curriculum, and that there should be a cap on the number of residency applications a student can submit. Conclusion Orthopaedic and internal medicine program directors disagree with the change of Step 1 to pass/fail. They also believe that this transition will make the match process more difficult, and disadvantage students from less highly-regarded medical schools. Both groups will rely more heavily on the Step 2 clinical knowledge exam score, but orthopaedics will place more importance on research, letters of recommendation, Alpha Omega Alpha membership, leadership/extracurricular activities, personal knowledge of the applicant, and audition electives.

scholarly journals A National Survey of Internal Medicine Primary Care Residency Program Directors

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1207-1212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul O’Rourke ◽  
Eva Tseng ◽  
Karen Chacko ◽  
Marc Shalaby ◽  
Anne Cioletti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Residency Program ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
Primary Care Residency ◽  
Residency Program Directors

scholarly journals Why Do Residency Program Directors Consider Resigning? A Mixed-Methods Analysis of a National Program Director Survey

2020 ◽  
Vol 133 (6) ◽  
pp. 761-767
Author(s):  
Kathlyn E. Fletcher ◽  
Alec B. O'Connor ◽  
Michael Kisielewski ◽  
Lisa L. Willett
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Residency Program ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
Program Director ◽  
National Program ◽  
Residency Program Directors

scholarly journals Questions Remain about Whether EBM Competencies Learned in Medical School are Retained in Residency

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Suzanne Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Internal Medicine ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Residency Program ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Medicine Clerkship ◽  
The Third ◽  
Journal Clubs ◽  
Residency Program Directors ◽  
The Impact

Objective – To assess medical graduates’ use of evidence based medicine (EBM) in residency, self-perception of EBM skills, attitudes toward EBM, and the impact of a formal EBM curriculum in their third undergraduate year. Design – A longitudinal follow-up study by self-administered questionnaire. Setting – Internal medicine residency programs in US hospitals. Subjects – A convenience sample of 2001 and 2002 graduates of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOM-P) (n=78), and their respective residency program directors (n=72). Methods – A student graduate questionnaire (SGQ) was sent to all members of UICOM-P’s 2001 and 2002 graduating classes who had completed the EBM course during their M-3 Internal Medicine clerkship. A program director questionnaire (PDQ), similar to the SGQ, was sent to the graduates’ residency program directors. The research instrument was tested with a pilot group prior to use, but not validated. The questionnaires consisted of 4 main sections. The first section examined formal and informal EBM programs in the graduates’ residency curriculum. The second section consisted of a self-assessment of EBM skills by the residents and an assessment of those skills by their program directors. The third section asked graduates to compare their EBM skills to those of their fellow residents who had not been students at UICOM-P. Similarly, in the third section of the PDQ, program directors were asked to compare the EBM skills of UICOM-P graduates and non-UICOM-P graduates participating in the residency program. The last section concerned professional and demographic characteristics. Copies of the surveys were mailed out to non-responders after 6 weeks. Results were collated but statistical analysis was not applied. Main results – The response rate was 32% for residents and 35% for program directors. The number of incomplete surveys was not reported. Forty-four percent of all respondents reported having a formal EBM curriculum for residents, and 76% reported an informal curriculum. For both formal and informal programs, the most common teaching formats were journal clubs, followed by lectures, teaching rounds, morning reports, bedside consultations, ambulatory clinics and seminars. In section two of the questionnaires, both residents and program directors rated the residents’ EBM skills similarly. However, the residents rated their skills in searching the literature and application of findings to clinical practice higher than the program directors. Program directors also rated the residents’ skills in understanding statistics and tests higher than the residents themselves. Twenty-four percent of both residents and program directors rated the UICOM-P graduates as “very competent” or “extremely competent” in EBM skills (50). Only 35% of program directors and 27% of residents rated the UICOM-P graduates’ EBM skills as “usually better” or “always better” than their peers who were not UICOM-P graduates (50). Conclusion - The authors of this study conclude that, for UICOM-P graduates, “it might be implied from these results that the EBM skills gained during medical school were retained through their medical school graduation and into their residency training” (51). However, this study has methodological weaknesses which make it difficult to draw any definite conclusions from the results.

scholarly journals Predicting Quality of Clinical Performance From Cardiology Fellowship Applications

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 258-264
Author(s):  
Michael W. Cullen ◽  
Thomas J. Beckman ◽  
Kristine M. Baldwin ◽  
Gregory J. Engstler ◽  
Jay Mandrekar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Residency Program ◽  
Clinical Training ◽  
Clinical Performance ◽  
Faculty Evaluation ◽  
Program Directors ◽  
Medical Society ◽  
Evaluation Scores ◽  
Alpha Omega ◽  
Residency Program Directors

Variables in cardiology fellowship applications have not been objectively analyzed against applicants' subsequent clinical performance. We investigated possible correlations in a retrospective cohort study of 65 cardiology fellows at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn) who began 2 years of clinical training from July 2007 through July 2013. Application variables included the strength of comparative statements in recommendation letters and the authors' academic ranks, membership status in the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, awards earned, volunteer activities, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores, advanced degrees, publications, and completion of a residency program ranked in the top 6 in the United States. The outcome was clinical performance as measured by a mean of faculty evaluation scores during clinical training. The overall mean evaluation score was 4.07 ± 0.18 (scale, 1–5). After multivariable analysis, evaluation scores were associated with Alpha Omega Alpha designation (β=0.13; 95% CI, 0.01–0.25; P=0.03), residency program reputation (β=0.13; 95% CI, 0.05–0.21; P=0.004), and strength of comparative statements in recommendation letters (β=0.08; 95% CI, 0.01–0.15; P=0.02), particularly in letters from residency program directors (β=0.05; 95% CI, 0.01–0.08; P=0.009). Objective factors to consider in the cardiology fellowship application include Alpha Omega Alpha membership, residency program reputation, and comparative statements from residency program directors.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document