The switch to using USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge scores is anticipated in January 2022.
A change in radiology residency scorings is likely on the horizon as the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 transitions from a numerical score to pass/fail.
In a poster presented during the 2021 ARRS Virtual Annual Meeting, Rebecca Zhang, a medical student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, explained that radiology residency program directors will most likely begin to rely on USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) scores as early as January 2022. These scores are considered an objective and standardized metric for screening applicants.
For more 2021 ARRS Virtual Meeting conference coverage, click here.
The timing of when these scores will be needed, though, remains in question.
“Program directors remain unsure whether they will require Step 2 CK scores at the time of application or before interviewing applicant,” she said.
Zhang’s team conducted a 14-item anonymous, voluntary electronic survey of 308 active members of the Association of Program Directors in Radiology to determine the importance and potential impact of this pivot to pass/fail. They also performed a secondary analysis that compared responses based on the current Step 1 scoring screen.
Of those survey, 29 percent responded, and 64 percent said an applicant’s Step 2 CK score will likely rank as one of the top three factors in evaluating applicants. The score was followed by class ranking (51 percent) and the Medical Student Performance Evaluation or Dean’s Letter (37 percent).
In addition, 90 percent of respondents predicted their programs may or will require the Step 2 scores before application review with 50 percent anticipating the scores will be required after interview invitations are extended.
More research could potentially help identify other objective metrics for more holistic evaluations, Zhang’s team said.
“These results did not significantly differ between programs who currently use a Step 1 scoring screen and those who do not,” they said.
For more coverage based on industry expert insights and research, subscribe to the Diagnostic Imaging e-Newsletter here.
A Victory for Radiology: New CMS Proposal Would Provide Coverage of CT Colonography in 2025
July 12th 2024In newly issued proposals addressing changes to coverage for Medicare services in 2025, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its intent to provide coverage of computed tomography colonography (CTC) for Medicare beneficiaries in 2025.
The Reading Room Podcast: Emerging Trends in the Radiology Workforce
February 11th 2022Richard Duszak, MD, and Mina Makary, MD, discuss a number of issues, ranging from demographic trends and NPRPs to physician burnout and medical student recruitment, that figure to impact the radiology workforce now and in the near future.
ACR Collaborative Model Leads to 35 Percent Improvement with Mammography Positioning Criteria
July 1st 2024Noting significant variation with facilities for achieving passing criteria for mammography positioning, researchers found that structured interventions, ranging from weekly auditing of images taken by technologists to mechanisms for feedback from radiologists to technologists, led to significant improvements in a multicenter study.
New Study Shows Non-Radiologists Interpreting 28 Percent of Imaging for Medicare Patients
June 28th 2024While radiologists interpreted approximately 99 percent of all non-cardiac CT, MRI and nuclear medicine studies in hospital and emergency department settings for Medicare beneficiaries, new research shows significantly less radiologist review of cardiac imaging and office-based imaging.