Department of Emergency Medicine, Saint Vincent Hospital, Allegheny Health Network, Erie, PA, USA.
Department of Emergency Medicine, Nash General Hospital, UNC Health Care, Rocky Mount, NC, USA.
J Osteopath Med. 2022 Mar 31;122(7):347-351. doi: 10.1515/jom-2021-0262.
The United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) is not required for osteopathic students to match into postgraduate programs; however, it is unknown if taking the test improves their chances of matching.
Our objective was to determine the association between taking the USMLE Step 1 and matching into the applicant's preferred specialty for senior osteopathic students applying to the 10 specialties to which students applied most in 2020.
We performed a secondary analysis of the free and publicly available 2020 National Residency Match Program (NRMP) published match report for senior osteopathic students. First, we determined the number of senior osteopathic students that matched into their preferred specialty vs those that did not and stratified them by reported completion of the USMLE Step 1 within each specialty. Next, we calculated odds ratios (ORs) within each specialty for senior osteopathic students matching into their preferred specialty with and without the USMLE Step 1 utilizing the Fisher's exact test. Finally, we repeated the analysis with only senior osteopathic students who had reported USMLE Step 1 scores in ranges including or below the mean for those who matched in their specialty.
For senior osteopathic students, reported completion of the USMLE Step 1 was associated with matching for those who applied to Internal Medicine (OR 3.3 [95% confidence interval 2.07 to 5.48]), Emergency Medicine (2.1 [1.35 to 3.17]), Pediatrics (4.4 [1.38 to 18.63]), Psychiatry (2.5 [1.34 to 4.98]), Anesthesiology (3.4 [1.57 to 7.32]), and General Surgery (3.1 [1.56 to 6.14]). After repeating the analysis with only senior osteopathic students who reported low USMLE Step 1 scores, the association remained significant for those who applied to Internal Medicine (2.5 [1.49 to 4.28]), Anesthesiology (2.6 [1.17 to 5.54]), and General Surgery (2.5 [1.24 to 5.04]).
In 2020, reported completion of the USMLE Step 1 by senior osteopathic students was associated with matching for those who applied to Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Anesthesiology, and General Surgery. In addition, reported completion of the USMLE Step 1 with a low score was associated with matching for those who applied to Internal Medicine, Anesthesiology, and General Surgery.
美国医师执照考试（USMLE）对于骨科学生来说不是进入研究生项目的必要条件；然而，目前尚不清楚参加考试是否会增加他们的匹配机会。
我们的目的是确定参加 USMLE 第一步考试与 2020 年申请十大专业的高年级骨科学生申请首选专业相匹配之间的关联，这些学生申请的专业是 2020 年学生申请最多的专业。
我们对免费的 2020 年全国住院医师匹配项目（NRMP）公布的高年级骨科学生匹配报告进行了二次分析。首先，我们确定了在首选专业中匹配的高年级骨科学生数量与未匹配的高年级骨科学生数量，并按每个专业报告的 USMLE 第一步完成情况对其进行分层。接下来，我们利用 Fisher 精确检验，在每个专业中计算了在 USMLE 第一步考试中匹配到首选专业的高年级骨科学生的优势比（OR）。最后，我们仅对报告了 USMLE 第一步成绩且成绩在该专业中匹配学生成绩范围内或低于平均值的高年级骨科学生进行了重复分析。
对于高年级骨科学生，报告完成 USMLE 第一步考试与内科（OR 3.3[95%置信区间 2.07 至 5.48]）、急诊医学（2.1[1.35 至 3.17]）、儿科学（4.4[1.38 至 18.63]）、精神病学（2.5[1.34 至 4.98]）、麻醉学（3.4[1.57 至 7.32]）和普通外科（3.1[1.56 至 6.14]）的匹配有关。在仅对报告 USMLE 第一步成绩较低的高年级骨科学生进行重复分析后，对于申请内科（2.5[1.49 至 4.28]）、麻醉学（2.6[1.17 至 5.54]）和普通外科（2.5[1.24 至 5.04]）的学生，该关联仍然显著。
2020 年，高年级骨科学生报告完成 USMLE 第一步考试与内科、急诊医学、儿科学、精神病学、麻醉学和普通外科的匹配有关。此外，报告的 USMLE 第一步考试成绩较低与内科、麻醉学和普通外科的匹配有关。
