Ophthalmology Program Directors' Perspectives on the Impact of the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 1 Change to Pass-Fail Scoring

Abstract

Abstract Purpose This article investigates the perspectives of ophthalmology residency program directors (PDs) regarding the impact of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 change from graded to pass-fail scoring on ophthalmology resident selection and medical education. Methods The PDs of all United States ophthalmology residency programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education were identified using a public, online database. An anonymous web-based survey constructed using REDCap was emailed to each PD in February 2020. Results Surveys were completed by 64 (54.2%) PDs, with the majority (81.2%) disagreeing with the change to pass-fail scoring. The majority of PDs believe this change will negatively impact the ability to evaluate residency applicants (92.1%) and achieve a fair and meritocratic match process (76.6%), and will decrease medical students' basic science knowledge (75.0%). The factors identified most frequently by PDs as becoming more important in evaluating residency applicants as a result of the Step 1 scoring change include clerkship grades (90.6%), USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge score (84.4%), and a rotation in the PD's department (79.7%). The majority of PDs believe the Step 1 grading change to pass-fail will benefit applicants from elite medical schools (60.9%), and disadvantage applicants from nonelite allopathic schools (82.8%), international medical graduate applicants (76.6%), and osteopathic applicants (54.7%). Conclusion The majority of ophthalmology PDs disagree with the change in USMLE Step 1 scoring from graded to pass-fail and believe this change will negatively impact the ability to evaluate residency applicants and achieve a fair and meritocratic match process, and will decrease medical students' basic science knowledge.