ArticleMedical science educator2025
A Medical Student Online Community: A Qualitative Analysis of Step 1 Subreddit Posts.
Article in Medical science educator, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- The Use of Retrieval Practice in the Health Professions: A State-of-the-Art Review.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Reddit is a public discussion website parsed into "subreddits" centered around specific topics. Medical students often utilize the Step 1 subreddit to seek peer counsel regarding exam preparation. The aim of this study is to utilize the Step 1 subreddit to (1) qualitatively explore how students utilize this subreddit and (2) to capture the evolving landscape of thoughts and strategies employed since Step 1 score reporting shifted to pass/fail. Methods: The Reddit Application Programming Interface (API) was employed to collect Step 1 subreddit posts between January 26, 2022, and April 10, 2023. The top 500 ranked posts were analyzed using the grounded theory method for comprehensive thematic analysis. Results: Thematic analysis identified five themes: mental and emotional challenges, academically overwhelming, peer student advice, community support and appreciation, and navigating the pass/fail Step 1 landscape. During exam preparation, students commonly expressed emotions of stress, overwhelmed by the volume of content and the demanding preparation timeline. Students leveraged the Step 1 subreddit to gain advice from peers on selecting and effectively utilizing resources, crafting study schedules, and prioritizing content. The subreddit served as a source of support, where posters extended encouragement and empathy for which students expressed gratitude. Likewise, students were engaged in the process of assessing external guidance and adapting their study strategies to thrive in the Step 1 pass/fail environment. Conclusions: The analysis of the Step 1 subreddit revealed themes that provide a better understanding of how medical students leverage this forum and insights of educators may use to optimize student support.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.