ReviewCureus2022
Predictors of Performance on the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 2 Clinical Knowledge: A Systematic Literature Review.
Review in Cureus, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 20 citations in OpenAlex.
- Factors associated with medical students’ scores on the National Licensing Exam in Peru: a systematic reviewJournal of educational evaluation for health professions · 2022Pooled it
- From prediction to advising: a multi model approach using NBME subject examinations to inform step 2 CK performance.Medical education online · 2026Article
- The association between the clinical competency exam scores at the end of the general medicine course and the clinical grade point average: A comparative study.Journal of education and health promotion · 2026Article
- Admission Routes and Demographics as Predictors of Academic Performance in Medical Students: A Retrospective Cohort of Grade Point Averages (GPAs) and Comprehensive Exam Scores.Advances in medical education and practice · 2026Article
- Exploring Students' Use of Medical Education Resources for the USMLE Step 2 CK Exam Preparation.Medical science educator · 2025Article
- Article
- Depression, anxiety, and stress among USMLE aspirants: a cross-sectional survey.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Article
- Peruvian medical residency selection: a portrayal of scores, distribution, and predictors of 28,872 applicants between 2019 and 2023.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Predictive Validity of Preclerkship Performance Metrics on USMLE Step 2 CK Outcomes in the Step 1 Pass/Fail Era.Advances in medical education and practice · 2025Article
- Socioeconomic factors and test preparation strategies are related to success on the USMLE Step 2 clinical knowledge (CK) exam: a single-institution study.BMC medical education · 2024Article
- Strategies for Academic Advisors and Mentors to Support Medical Students Entering Clinical Rotations.Medical science educator · 2024Article
- Attitudes of Anesthesiology Postgraduate Residents Toward the Influential Factors in Their Success in the Iranian National Board Exam.Anesthesiology and pain medicine · 2023Article
- Observations of Score Changes Between USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 Among Students of Different Demographic Groups in a Longitudinal Clinical Curriculum.Journal of medical education and curricular developmentArticle
- Underrepresented Applicants Post-USMLE Pass/Fail: A National Survey of Competitive Residency Directors.Journal of medical education and curricular developmentArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In February 2020, the governing bodies of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) announced the decision to change Step 1 score reporting from a three-digit system to pass/fail designation. Previous studies theorized that Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) will become the numerical standard by which residency directors can quickly sort through program applicants. The goal of this study is to review prior research and identify significant factors associated with Step 2 CK outcomes. A systematic literature search on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ERIC that included articles published between 2005 and 2015 was conducted using the keywords "USMLE," "Step 2 CK," "score," "success," and "predictors." After screening the initial search yield of 3,239 articles, 52 articles were included for this review. Positively correlated factors included Step 1 score, clinical block grades, Comprehensive Clinical Science Self-Assessment (CCSSA), Comprehensive Clinical Science Examination (CCSE), and volunteerism. Factors such as clerkship sequence and pass/fail grading failed to correlate with Step 2 CK. Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) score (p < 0.01) and undergraduate grade point average (GPA) (p = 0.01) positively correlated, while age displayed a negative correlation. Additionally, females typically scored higher on Step 2 CK than their male peers. The study findings suggest that continuous learning and academic success throughout medical school positively influence eventual Step 2 CK scoring. Performance on USMLE practice examinations, Step 1, and clinical evaluations serve as positive predictors for Step 2 CK scores. Interestingly, changing answers and spending more time on each question during the examination were associated with higher scores.
Indexed as
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.