• Sara L Wallach, Christopher Williams, Robert T Chow, Nagesh Jadhav, Sapna Kuehl, Jaya M Raj, and Richard Alweis.
• Department of Medicine, St. Francis Medical Center, Trenton, NJ, USA.
• J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2020 Sep 3; 10 (5): 381-385.

BackgroundThe scoring rubric on the USMLE Step 1 examination will be changing to pass/fail in January 2022. This study elicits internal medicine resident perspectives on USMLE pass/fail scoring at the national level.ObjectiveTo assess internal medicine resident opinions regarding USMLE pass/fail scoring and examine how variables such as gender, scores on USMLE 1 and 2, PGY status and type of medical school are associated with these results.MethodsIn the fall of 2019, the authors surveyed current internal medicine residents via an on-line tool distributed through their program directors. Respondents indicated their Step 1 and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge scores from five categorical ranges. Questions on medical school type, year of training year, and gender were included. The results were analyzed utilizing Pearson Chi-square testing and multivariable logistic regression.Results4012 residents responded, reflecting 13% of internal medicine residents currently training in the USA. Fifty-five percent of respondents disagreed/strongly disagreed with pass/fail scoring and 34% agreed/strongly agreed. Group-based differences were significant for gender, PGY level, Step 1 score, and medical school type; a higher percentage of males, those training at the PGY1 level, and graduates of international medical schools (IMGs) disagreed with pass/fail reporting. In addition, high scorers on Step 1 were more likely to disagree with pass/fail reporting than low scoring residents.ConclusionOur results suggest that a majority of internal medicine residents, currently training in the USA prefer that USMLE numerical scoring is retained and not changed to pass/fail.© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group on behalf of Greater Baltimore Medical Center.

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