Abstract
Objectives: Many medicalstudents take commercial preparation courses toprepare for the USMLE Step 1. Thisinvestigation examined the relationships amongStep 1 performance, preparation method, andacademic achievement in medical school.
Method: A survey was conducted on 148junior students at a medical school in July2000 regarding their preparation methods forStep 1. Additional data was collected onstudent Step 1 scores, attendance record onpreparation courses, and course grades inmedical school.
Results: One hundred students (68%)responded to the survey including 32preparation course participants. Courseparticipants had significantly lower Step 1scores and second-year GPAs than those of thenon-participants (p < 0.05). However,the effect of preparation method was notsignificant by using ANCOVA when thesecond-year GPA was used as a covariate (p = 0.71).
Conclusion: Performance on Step 1 isrelated to academic performance in medicalschool and not the type of preparation methods.
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Zhang, C., Rauchwarger, A., Toth, C. et al. Student USMLE Step 1 Preparation and Performance. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract 9, 291–297 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-004-3925-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-004-3925-x