ABSTRACT
Background
The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 has been used as a
screening tool for residency selection. In February 2020, Step 1 numerical scoring changed to pass/fail.
Objective
To survey emergency medicine (EM) residency program attitudes towards the new Step
1 scoring change and to identify important applicant screening factors.
Methods
A 16-question survey was distributed through the Council of Residency Directors in
Emergency Medicine (CORD) Listserv from November 11- December 31, 2020. Given the
Step 1 scoring change, the survey questioned the importance of EM rotation grades,
composite standardized letters of evaluation (cSLOE), and individual standardized
letters of evaluation (iSLOE), using a Likert scale. Descriptive statistics of demographics
and selection factors were performed along with a regression analysis.
Results
Of the 107 respondents, 48% program directors, 28% assistant/associate program directors,
14% clerkship directors, and 10% other role. Sixty (55.6%) disagreed with pass/fail
Step 1 scoring change and of those, 82% believed that numerical scoring was a good
screening tool. The cSLOE, EM rotation grades, and interview were the most important
selection factors. Residencies with ≥50 residents had 5.25 odds (95% CI 1.25, 22.1;
p=0.0018) and those who ranked cSLOE as the most important selection factor had 4.90
odds (95% CI 1.125, 21.37; p=0.0343) of agreeing with pass/fail scoring.
Conclusion
Most EM programs disagree with pass/fail scoring of Step 1 and will most likely use
Step 2 score as a screening tool. The cSLOE, EM rotation grades, and the interview
are the most important factors, respectively.
Keywords
To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
Purchase one-time access:
Academic & Personal: 24 hour online accessCorporate R&D Professionals: 24 hour online accessOne-time access price info
- For academic or personal research use, select 'Academic and Personal'
- For corporate R&D use, select 'Corporate R&D Professionals'
Subscribe:
Subscribe to Journal of Emergency MedicineAlready a print subscriber? Claim online access
Already an online subscriber? Sign in
Register: Create an account
Institutional Access: Sign in to ScienceDirect
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
March 7,
2023
Received:
January 7,
2023
Publication stage
In Press Accepted ManuscriptFootnotes
Disclosure: 2nd place winner at the American Academy of Emergency Medicine (AAEM) Young Physicians Section (YPS), Abstract Competition, St. Louis, MO, June 22, 2021.
Identification
Copyright
© 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
