In recent years there has been growing concern about the potential negative impact of USMLE Step 1 scores being used as determinants as to who is invited to interview for residency positions, a step taken as the number of applications for each residency program became unmanageable. Concerns included the medical students focusing more on Step 1 study versus the curriculum of the medical school, and the general learning environment of Step 1 “frenzy” amongst the students. The announcement by the National Board of Medical Examiners in February 2020 that USMLE Step 1 is going to a pass/fail scoring system in 2021 was both applauded and condemned by medical educators and students. The president and immediate past-president of the Alliance of Clinical Education, the organization of medical school clerkship director organizations from Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Family Medicine, Ob/Gyn, Neurology, Psychiatry, Surgery and Emergency Medicine will discuss the impact of USMLE Step 1 not having a numerical score, including the concern that with USMLE Step 2 CK remaining scored, are we just shifting the concerns to a different time in the life of a medical student.
Step 1 Going Pass-Fail: Are We Just Kicking the Can Down the Road?
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Brenda Roman, MD is Associate Dean of Medical Education and Professor in Psychiatry at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Dayton, OH. Previously she was the Director of Medical Student Education in Psychiatry for 18 years. Dr. Roman received her medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in 1988, and completed her residency in psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati Hospital system in 1992, then joined the faculty at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine. She is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society and the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Her clinical work has focused on the college population and the homeless population. Her scholarly work focuses on medical education, curriculum development, and women’s mental health issues.
Bruce Morgenstern is Vice Dean for Academic & Clinical Affairs at the Roseman University College of Medicine. He received his MD degree from Jefferson Medical College. He trained in General Pediatrics at the Long Island Jewish – Hillside Medical Center and in Pediatric Nephrology at the St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. After serving in the US Air Force at Keesler Medical Center, he practiced for 15 years at the Mayo Clinic and for another decade at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.