Skip to content
  • About
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Book
  • Careers
  • Podcast
  • Recommended
  • Speaking
  • All
  • Physician
  • Practice
  • Policy
  • Finance
  • Conditions
  • .edu
  • Patient
  • Meds
  • Tech
  • Social
  • Video
    • All
    • Physician
    • Practice
    • Policy
    • Finance
    • Conditions
    • .edu
    • Patient
    • Meds
    • Tech
    • Social
    • Video
    • About
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Book
    • Careers
    • Podcast
    • Recommended
    • Speaking

Test prep companies are more powerful than medical school

Christopher Warne
Education
June 18, 2017
202 Shares
Share
Tweet
Share

High-stakes standardized testing is an enduring facet of medical education, and the standardized test that is on every medical student’s mind is the USMLE Step 1. The paramount importance of this test for getting into residency creates a demand for high-quality test preparation materials. Established test prep names like Pathoma, Sketchy Medical, First Aid and UWorld fill that demand in a market consisting of more than 40,000 test takers worldwide each year. The ubiquity of these products among medical students is an indication of their utility in preparing for Step 1. The early adopters of new test prep resources can pull away from the pack in test performance. Subsequent years, however, lead to an ever-increasing saturation of these products among the general medical school population as word of their effectiveness spreads. Over the course of a few years, a “high-yield” resource can change from something that gives a few students an edge to a resource that is essentially required reading for students looking to keep up.

This test prep arms race is one possible factor in the rising national average test scores each year. The average test score for the first time U.S. and Canadian test takers increased from 221 in 2009 to 228 in 2015. The average Step 1 score of those who matched into plastic surgery, one of the most competitive specialties, reached 250 in 2016. The proliferation of high-quality preparation materials fuels the increases in step scores as students compete for desired specialties and residency positions. It is hard to blame students for looking for any way to gain an edge on the competition: failure to match into a chosen field has career-changing and life-altering consequences.

Increasing Step 1 scores are only one potential side effect of the test prep arms race. The high-yield nature of test prep resources, combined with the outsized importance of the Step 1 exam, lead some students to rely largely or solely on these resources at the expense of their medical school’s curriculum in an attempt to perform better on Step 1. Reasoning that the main purpose of the pre-clinical years of medical school is to prepare for Step 1, these students forego the lectures and material they pay tens of thousands of dollars in tuition for and instead rely on self-study through the medical curriculum found in Step 1 test preparation materials. The transition to Pass/Fail grading and optional lecture attendance at some medical schools further facilitates this movement away from traditional medical school learning to the new-age method of reliance on outside resources.

Does it matter that these students are being educated, not by a nationally accredited medical school, but instead by unaccredited, for-profit test prep companies? The point that everything in medicine begins to matter is the point at which patient care is affected. Is there a significant difference in the clinical acumen of traditionally educated students and those who have adopted this new-age form of medical education? This is a difficult question to answer, mostly because a good way to test for clinical ability remains to be found. On its face, however, it seems like the answer should be that it does matter who is educating medical students, or else why would anyone bother accrediting medical schools in the first place?

If reliance on test prep materials is found to be a problem, then perhaps a change needs to be made to the structure of the Step 1 exam. Modifying the content of the exam might be enough to eliminate the need for test prep materials altogether. Students could focus on what their professors are trying to teach them rather than on what is considered high-yield for exam purposes but low-yield for practicing medicine. However, if current trends continue, Step 1 scores will continue to rise, test prep materials will continue to proliferate, and future physicians will continue to receive their education from unaccredited sources.

Christopher Warne is a medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

Prev

A letter from a physician to his father

June 18, 2017 Kevin 0
…
Next

A healthy lifestyle can prevent many of the diseases this pathologist diagnoses every day

June 19, 2017 Kevin 1
…

Tagged as: Medical school

Post navigation

< Previous Post
A letter from a physician to his father
Next Post >
A healthy lifestyle can prevent many of the diseases this pathologist diagnoses every day

Related Posts

  • End medical school grades

    Adam Lieber
  • The medical school personal statement struggle

    Sheindel Ifrah
  • Why medical school is like playing defense

    Jamie Katuna
  • Promote a culture of medical school peer education

    Albert Jang, MD
  • The unintended consequences of free medical school

    Anonymous
  • A meditation in medical school

    Orly Farber

More in Education

  • The role of income in medical school acceptance

    Carter Do
  • Balancing tension and kindness in medical education

    Chloe N. L. Lee, MD, MPH
  • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

    Nandini Erodula
  • A chance encounter in Chicago: lessons in compassionate medicine

    Emily S. Hagen
  • Business education’s role in preventing physician practice decline

    Curtis G. Graham, MD
  • The impact of assumptions on patient communication in medical training

    Esther Covington
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Out-of-office infusions in oncology care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Balancing motherhood and medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Misunderstandings about opioid use disorder

      Amy Baxter, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Out-of-office infusions in oncology care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Using the language of art to create work-life balance

      Sarah Samaan, MD | Physician
    • Levamisole is good for your dog, but bad for your cocaine

      Robert Killeen, MD | Meds
    • Physician autonomy and patient interactions in corporate health care

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • PSA screening: What you need to know [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

Subscribe to KevinMD and never miss a story!

Get free updates delivered free to your inbox.


Find jobs at
Careers by KevinMD.com

Search thousands of physician, PA, NP, and CRNA jobs now.

Learn more

View 1 Comments >

Founded in 2004 by Kevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the web’s leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories.

Social

  • Like on Facebook
  • Follow on Twitter
  • Connect on Linkedin
  • Subscribe on Youtube
  • Instagram

CME Spotlights

From MedPage Today

Latest News

  • Long COVID Rare in U.S. Kids, Has Affected 7% of Adults
  • Vascular Conditions Offer No Clarity on Pollution-Dementia Link
  • FDA Staff Voice Serious Concerns About Investigational ALS Cell Therapy
  • Primary Prevention Benefits of Lowering LDL Also Apply to the Elderly
  • Doctors Should Stay Away From 'Grateful Patient' Fundraising

Meeting Coverage

  • Loneliness Needs to Be Treated Like Any Other Health Condition, Researcher Suggests
  • Stopping Medical Misinformation Requires Early Detection
  • AI Has an Image Problem in Healthcare, Expert Says
  • Want Better Health Outcomes? Check Out What Other Countries Do
  • ERS Roundup: Cell Transplant Boosts Lung Function in COPD Patients
  • Most Popular

  • Past Week

    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • I’m a doctor, and I almost died during childbirth

      Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD | Physician
    • I’m tired of being a distracted doctor

      Shiv Rao, MD | Tech
    • Inside the grueling life of a surgery intern

      Randall S. Fong, MD | Physician
    • Out-of-office infusions in oncology care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • Balancing motherhood and medicine [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
  • Past 6 Months

    • Medical gaslighting: a growing challenge in today’s medical landscape

      Tami Burdick | Conditions
    • Balancing opioid medication in chronic pain

      L. Joseph Parker, MD | Conditions
    • I want to be a doctor who can provide care for women: What states must I rule out for my medical education?

      Nandini Erodula | Education
    • Mourning the silent epidemic: the physician suicide crisis and suggestions for change

      Amna Shabbir, MD | Physician
    • Reigniting after burnout: 3 physician stories

      Kim Downey, PT | Physician
    • Misunderstandings about opioid use disorder

      Amy Baxter, MD | Conditions
  • Recent Posts

    • Out-of-office infusions in oncology care [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast
    • The power of business knowledge for medical professionals

      Curtis G. Graham, MD | Physician
    • Using the language of art to create work-life balance

      Sarah Samaan, MD | Physician
    • Levamisole is good for your dog, but bad for your cocaine

      Robert Killeen, MD | Meds
    • Physician autonomy and patient interactions in corporate health care

      Michele Luckenbaugh | Conditions
    • PSA screening: What you need to know [PODCAST]

      The Podcast by KevinMD | Podcast

MedPage Today Professional

An Everyday Health Property Medpage Today
  • Terms of Use | Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • DMCA Policy
All Content © KevinMD, LLC
Site by Outthink Group

Test prep companies are more powerful than medical school
1 comments

Comments are moderated before they are published. Please read the comment policy.

Loading Comments...