USMLE Program Changes Step 1 Score Reporting to Pass/Fail in 2022 February 12, 2020
Written by MSDC Staff
In a big announcement today, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) announced that it will change the score reporting for Step 1 from the current three-digit numeric score to reporting a pass/fail outcome. Numeric scores will still be used for the Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) and Step 3, and the Step 2 Clinical Skills (CS) will be reported as pass/fail. The change will take place in 2022.
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) relied on feedback from the Invitational Conference on USMLE Scoring (InCUS), accorinding to the organization's release. The March 2019 InCUS was sponsored by the American Medical Association, AAMC, and other health organizations.
Dr. Susan Skochelak, Chief Academic Officer of the AMA, is quoted in the release saying:
The American Medical Association supports the decision to move to a pass/fail reporting structure for the USMLE Step 1 as a first element in improving the UME to GME transition. Our student, resident and physician members voted to endorse a pass/fail policy, in part, because we know our current residency selection system is causing significant distress for our students.
USMLE has published an FAQ on the changes here.
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) relied on feedback from the Invitational Conference on USMLE Scoring (InCUS), accorinding to the organization's release. The March 2019 InCUS was sponsored by the American Medical Association, AAMC, and other health organizations.
Dr. Susan Skochelak, Chief Academic Officer of the AMA, is quoted in the release saying:
The American Medical Association supports the decision to move to a pass/fail reporting structure for the USMLE Step 1 as a first element in improving the UME to GME transition. Our student, resident and physician members voted to endorse a pass/fail policy, in part, because we know our current residency selection system is causing significant distress for our students.
USMLE has published an FAQ on the changes here.