PURPOSE
At many medical schools, medical student advancement into clerkships is
dependent on the successful completion of the USLME Step 1 exam, which has
had declining pass rates since the transition to pass/fail. Failing or
delaying Step 1 hinders progression into the clinical training phase, costing
students time, money, and morale. Third-party resources can supplement the
formal medical curriculum and aid in preparing for Step 1. We previously
identified a relationship between use of specific ScholarRx resources and
student performance on the Comprehensive Basic Science Exam, which can be
used as a proxy for Step 1 readiness. The present study builds upon this work
by directly investigating the relationship between ScholarRx usage and taking
and passing Step 1 on time.
METHODS
ScholarRx usage data, average course grades, and Step 1 pass/fail data from
a cohort of second-year medical students within a US medical school were
matched, deidentified, and analyzed (n=102). Logistic regression was
conducted with the binary dependent variable of whether or not a student took
and passed Step 1 on time. Independent variables included average course
grade and four specific metrics of ScholarRx utilization: QMAX (practice
questions), bricks (online learning modules), videos, and flashcards. This
project was reviewed by the Institutional Review Board.
RESULTS
The logistic regression revealed that ScholarRx QMAX usage and Biomedical
course average are statistically significant predictors of taking and passing
Step 1 on time (p0.05).
CONCLUSION
The present study found significant positive relationships between the
number of QMAX questions completed and performance in biomedical sciences courses
with taking and passing Step 1 on time. This correlative study suggests that
ScholarRx QMAX practice questions may be a useful tool to support medical
students’ timely passing of Step 1 and advancement to clerkships.