ArticleJournal of medical education and curricular development
Impact of USMLE Pass/Fail Step 1 Scoring on Current Medical Students.
Article in Journal of medical education and curricular development. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Medical Student-Driven Multimodal Surgical Training to Enhance Preclinical Surgical Skill Acquisition, Surgical Clerkship Readiness, and Career Exploration.Advances in medical education and practice · 2026Article
- Mental Health First Aid Training as a Wellness Initiative for First Year Medical Students.Advances in medical education and practice · 2026Article
- Strategies for Success: Assessing Student Perspectives on the Impact of Step 1 Pass/Fail.Medical science educator · 2025Article
- The Impact of a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1 Exam on USMLE Step 2 Exam Study Time.Medical science educator · 2025Article
- Article
- The Paradox of Knowledge: Why Medical Students Know More But Understand Less.Medical science educator · 2025Article
- What Do Medical Students Think About a Pass/Fail USMLE Step 1? A Survey of 18 Allopathic Schools.Journal of medical education and curricular developmentArticle
- Should We Shorten the Preclinical Curriculum? A Commentary on Accelerated Pathways in the Pass/Fail Era.Journal of medical education and curricular developmentArticle
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesThe aim of this study was to examine students' perceptions of pass/fail scoring for Step 1, particularly when applying to competitive specialties. This study also investigated whether this transition increased anxiety among medical students and elicited student perspectives on the most critical components of residency applications.
introductionThe United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 1 Board Exam transitioned from a traditional numeric score to pass/fail for exams taken on or after January 26, 2022. One justification for this change, according to a statement from USMLE, was to ease the transition between undergraduate and graduate medical education. Although many factors are considered when selecting candidates to interview for residency, Step 1 scores were historically used as an important metric. Few studies specifically evaluated medical student's attitudes toward the change in Step 1 grading.
methodsAn online survey was distributed to Penn State College of Medicine medical students in the 2024 to 2027 classes. Statistical analysis was conducted on responses to research plans, attitudes regarding Step 1 pass/fail, match rates, and importance of application components.
resultsThere was a 21.3% response rate (127/596) to the survey with 30.7% pursuing a competitive specialty. Students applying into competitive specialties felt their chances of matching changed significantly compared to students applying to other specialties (either increased (25.6% vs 10.2%,
conclusionMedical students report increased anxiety with Step 2 after Step 1 became pass/fail, although students overwhelmingly agreed with this change. To address this, medical schools should offer further guidance and resources to students, focusing on mentorship and methods to optimize residency applications for their chosen specialties.
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