scholarly journals Successfully Matching Into Surgical Specialties: An Analysis of National Resident Matching Program Data

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 316-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy R. Rinard ◽  
Ben D. Garol ◽  
Ashvin B. Shenoy ◽  
Raman C. Mahabir
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Medical Society ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Surgical Specialty ◽  
Surgical Residency ◽  
Application Service ◽  
Usmle Step 1 ◽  
Usmle Step ◽  
Top 40 ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Objective We explored the impact that attributes of US medical school seniors have on their success in matching to a surgical residency, in order to analyze trends for National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) match outcomes in surgical specialties between 2007 and 2009. Methods Using Electronic Residency Application Service data and NRMP outcomes, we analyzed medical students' attributes and their effect in successfully matching students into residency positions in surgery, otolaryngology, orthopedic surgery, plastic surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology. Attributes analyzed included self-reported United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 and Step 2 scores, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society membership, research experience, additional graduate degree status, and graduation from a top 40 National Institutes of Health (NIH)–funded medical school. Odds ratios were calculated for each criterion, and 95% confidence intervals were used to determine significance. Results Between 2007 and 2009, the number of surgical specialty residency positions increased by 86, and the number of applicants increased by 34. Membership in AOA, USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 scores, research experience, and graduation from a top 40 NIH-funded medical school frequently had a significant impact on residents successfully matching into many specialties, while additional graduate degrees had no effect on matching into surgical specialties (range 0.64 to 1.2). Conclusions Although the statistical significance varied across specialties, higher USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 scores, AOA membership, research experience, and graduation from a top 40 NIH-funded medical school generally had a positive impact on match success to surgical residency for US allopathic seniors. Test preparation and seeking research experience during undergraduate medical education may be effective approaches for increasing the likelihood of success for US seniors matching into a surgical specialty.

A comparison of student performance on discipline-specific versus integrated exams in a medical school course

2013 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 370-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Thompson ◽  
Mark W. Braun ◽  
Valerie D. O'Loughlin
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Bloom's Taxonomy ◽  
Integrated Instruction ◽  
Bloom’S Taxonomy ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Usmle Step 1 ◽  
Usmle Step ◽  
Exam Scores ◽  
The Impact

Curricular reform is a widespread trend among medical schools. Assessing the impact that pedagogical changes have on students is a vital step in review process. This study examined how a shift from discipline-focused instruction and assessment to integrated instruction and assessment affected student performance in a second-year medical school pathology course. We investigated this by comparing pathology exam scores between students exposed to traditional discipline-specific instruction and exams (DSE) versus integrated instruction and exams (IE). Exam content was controlled, and individual questions were evaluated using a modified version of Bloom's taxonomy. Additionally, we compared United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) step 1 scores between DSE and IE groups. Our findings indicate that DSE students performed better than IE students on complete pathology exams. However, when exam content was controlled, exam scores were equivalent between groups. We also discovered that the integrated exams were composed of a significantly greater proportion of questions classified on the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy and that IE students performed better on these questions overall. USMLE step 1 exam scores were similar between groups. The finding of a significant difference in content complexity between discipline-specific and integrated exams adds to recent literature indicating that there are a number of potential biases related to curricular comparison studies that must be considered. Future investigation involving larger sample sizes and multiple disciplines should be performed to explore this matter further.

scholarly journals National Board of Medical Examiners and Curriculum Change: What Do Scores Tell Us? A Case Study at the University of Balamand Medical School

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 238212052092506
Author(s):  
Mode Al Ojaimi ◽  
Megan Khairallah ◽  
Rayya Younes ◽  
Sara Salloum ◽  
Ghania Zgheib
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
National Board ◽  
Medical Licensing ◽  
Usmle Step 1 ◽  
Usmle Step ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The University ◽  
Medical Examiners ◽  
The Impact

Objectives: This study describes the results of NBME (National Board of Medical Examiners) implementation in Balamand Medical School (BMS) from 2015 to 2019, after major curricular changes were introduced as of 2012. BMS students’ performance was compared with the international USMLE step 1 (United States Medical Licensing Examination, herein referred to as step 1) cohorts’ performances. The BMS students’ NBME results were analyzed over the successive academic years to assess the impact of the serial curricular changes that were implemented. Methods: This longitudinal study describes the performance of BMS preclinical second year medicine (Med II) students on all their NBME exams over 4 academic years starting 2015-2016 to 2018-2019. These scores were compared with the step 1 comparison group scores using item difficulty. The t test was computed for each of the NBME exams to check whether the scores’ differences were significant. Results: Results revealed that all BMS cohorts scored lower than the international USMLE step 1 comparison cohorts in all disciplines across the 4 academic years except Psychiatry. However, the results were progressively approaching step 1 results, and the difference between step 1 scores and BMS students’ NBME scores became closer and not significant as of year 4. Conclusions: The results of the study are promising. They show that the serial curricular changes enabled BMS Med II students’ scores to reach the international cohorts’ scores after 4 academic years. Moreover, the absence of statistical difference between cohort 4 scores and step 1 cohorts is not module dependent and applies to all clinical modules. Further studies should be conducted to assess whether the results obtained for cohort 4 can be maintained.

scholarly journals Anticipating the Impact of the USMLE Step 1 Pass/Fail Scoring Decision on Underrepresented-in-Medicine Students

2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (9) ◽  
pp. 1318-1321 ◽  
Author(s):  
William McDade ◽  
Monica B. Vela ◽  
J.P. Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Usmle Step 1 ◽  
Usmle Step ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The Impact of a Peer-Designed and -Led USMLE Step 1 Review Course: Improvement in Preparation and Scores

2010 ◽  
Vol 85 ◽  
pp. S45-S48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicia M. Alcamo ◽  
Abby R. Davids ◽  
David P. Way ◽  
D. Joanne Lynn ◽  
Dale D. Vandre
Keyword(s):  
Usmle Step 1 ◽  
Review Course ◽  
Usmle Step ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals Investigating the Impact of Preparation Strategies on USMLE Step 1 Performance

MedEdPublish ◽  
2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Bonasso ◽  
Brandon Lucke-Wold ◽  
Zebula Reed ◽  
John Bozek ◽  
Scott Cottrell
Keyword(s):  
Usmle Step 1 ◽  
Usmle Step ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Usmle Step 1 Performance

scholarly journals Predicting Medical School and Internship Success: Does the Quality of the Research and Clinical Experience Matter?

2015 ◽  
Vol 180 (suppl_4) ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie D. Paolino ◽  
Anthony R. Artino ◽  
Aaron Saguil ◽  
Ting Dong ◽  
Steven J. Durning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Clinical Experience ◽  
Medical Training ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
American Medical College ◽  
Training Methods ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Grade Point ◽  
Application Service ◽  
Service Application

ABSTRACT Objectives: This article explores specific aspects of self-reported clinical and research experience and their relationship to performance in medical training. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at the Uniformed Services University. The American Medical College Application Service application was used to discern students' self-reported clinical and research experience. Two authors applied a classification scheme for clinical and research experience to the self-reported experiences. Study outcomes included medical school grade point average (GPA), U.S. Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) scores, and intern expertise and professionalism scores. A linear regression analysis was conducted for each outcome while controlling for prematriculation GPA. Results: Data were retrieved on 1,020 matriculants. There were several statistically significant but small differences across outcomes when comparing the various categories of clinical experience with no clinical experience. The technician-level experience group had a decrease of 0.1 in cumulative GPA in comparison to students without self-reported clinical experience (p = 0.004). This group also performed 5 points lower on the USMLE Step 2 than students who did not report clinical experience (p = 0.013). The various levels of self-reported research experience were unrelated to success in medical school and graduate medical education. Discussion: These findings indicate that self-reported technician-level clinical experience is related to a small reduction in typically reported outcomes in medical school.

scholarly journals Analysis of the 1990–2007 neurosurgery residency match: does applicant gender affect neurosurgery match outcome?

2018 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 282-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan R. Durham ◽  
Katelyn Donaldson ◽  
M. Sean Grady ◽  
Deborah L. Benzil
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Female Gender ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Successful Match ◽  
Usmle Step 1 ◽  
Usmle Step ◽  
Underrepresentation Of Women ◽  
Residency Application

OBJECTIVEWith nearly half of graduating US medical students being female, it is imperative to understand why females typically make up less than 20% of the neurosurgery applicant pool, a number that has changed very slowly over the past several decades. Organized neurosurgery has strongly indicated the desire to overcome the underrepresentation of women, and it is critical to explore whether females are at a disadvantage during the residency application process, one of the first steps in a neurosurgical career. To date, there are no published studies on specific applicant characteristics, including gender, that are associated with match outcome among neurosurgery resident applicants. The purpose of this study is to determine which characteristics of neurosurgery residency applicants, including gender, are associated with a successful match outcome.METHODSDe-identified neurosurgical resident applicant data obtained from the San Francisco Fellowship and Residency Matching Service for the years 1990–2007 were analyzed. Applicant characteristics including gender, medical school attended, year of application, United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 score, Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) status, and match outcome were available for study.RESULTSOf the total 3426 applicants studied, 473 (13.8%) applicants were female and 2953 (86.2%) were male. Two thousand four hundred forty-eight (71.5%) applicants successfully matched. USMLE Step 1 score was the strongest predictor of match outcome with scores > 245 having an OR of 20.84 (95% CI 10.31–42.12) compared with those scoring < 215. The mean USMLE Step 1 score for applicants who successfully matched was 233.2 and was 210.8 for those applicants who did not match (p < 0.001). Medical school rank was also associated with match outcome (p < 0.001). AOA status was not significantly associated with match outcome. Female gender was associated with significantly lower odds of matching in both simple (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.48–0.72) and multivariate analyses (OR 0.57, 95% CI 0.34–0.94 CI). USMLE Step 1 scores were significantly lower for females compared to males with a mean score of 230.1 for males and 221.5 for females (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in medical school ranking or AOA status when stratified by applicant gender.CONCLUSIONSThe limited historical applicant data from 1990–2007 suggests that USMLE Step 1 score is the best predictor of match outcome, although applicant gender may also play a role.

scholarly journals Medical School Resourcing of USMLE Step 1 Preparation: Questioning the Validity of Step 1

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 1141-1145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary L. Beck Dallaghan ◽  
Julie Story Byerley ◽  
Neva Howard ◽  
William C. Bennett ◽  
Kurt O. Gilliland
Keyword(s):  
Medical School ◽  
Usmle Step 1 ◽  
Usmle Step

scholarly journals Using Markov chain model to evaluate medical students’ trajectory on progress tests and predict USMLE step 1 scores---a retrospective cohort study in one medical school

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Wang ◽  
Heather S. Laird-Fick ◽  
Carol J. Parker ◽  
David Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Markov Chain ◽  
Medical Students ◽  
Medical School ◽  
Markov Chain Model ◽  
First Year ◽  
Chain Model ◽  
Progress Test ◽  
Usmle Step 1 ◽  
Licensing Examination ◽  
Usmle Step

Abstract Background Medical students must meet curricular expectations and pass national licensing examinations to become physicians. However, no previous studies explicitly modeled stages of medical students acquiring basic science knowledge. In this study, we employed an innovative statistical model to characterize students’ growth using progress testing results over time and predict licensing examination performance. Methods All students matriculated from 2016 to 2017 in our medical school with USMLE Step 1 test scores were included in this retrospective cohort study (N = 358). Markov chain method was employed to: 1) identify latent states of acquiring scientific knowledge based on progress tests and 2) estimate students’ transition probabilities between states. The primary outcome of this study, United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 performance, were predicted based on students’ estimated probabilities in each latent state identified by Markov chain model. Results Four latent states were identified based on students’ progress test results: Novice, Advanced Beginner I, Advanced Beginner II and Competent States. At the end of the first year, students predicted to remain in the Novice state had lower mean Step 1 scores compared to those in the Competent state (209, SD = 14.8 versus 255, SD = 10.8 respectively) and had more first attempt failures (11.5% versus 0%). On regression analysis, it is found that at the end of the first year, if there was 10% higher chance staying in Novice State, Step 1 scores will be predicted 2.0 points lower (95% CI: 0.85–2.81 with P < .01); while 10% higher chance in Competent State, Step 1scores will be predicted 4.3 points higher (95% CI: 2.92–5.19 with P < .01). Similar findings were also found at the end of second year medical school. Conclusions Using the Markov chain model to analyze longitudinal progress test performance offers a flexible and effective estimation method to identify students’ transitions across latent stages for acquiring scientific knowledge. The results can help identify students who are at-risk for licensing examination failure and may benefit from targeted academic support.

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