The association between United States Medical Licensing Examination scores and clinical performance in medical students

Figures & data

Figure 1 Mean United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 (A) and Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) (B) Scores per count of honors grades received in core clinical clerkships, for medical students graduating in 2013–2017 from two US Medical Schools (N=1,511).

Table 1 Summary of descriptive statistics for medical students graduating in 2013–2017 from two US Medical Schools (N=1,511)

Variables	Full sample N=1,511	Male N=814	Female N=697	Institution A N=790	Institution B N=721
Count of honors grades received in core clinical clerkships	1.99 (SD=1.63)	1.82 (SD=1.59)	2.19 (SD=1.66)	2.60 (SD=1.54)	1.33 (SD=1.46)
USMLE Step 1 score	233.23 (SD=17.15)	235.91 (SD=16.94)	230.11 (SD=16.88)	234.06 (SD=16.79)	232.32 (SD=17.51)
USMLE Step 2 CK score	243.06 (SD=14.53)	243.18 (SD=14.80)	242.92 (SD=14.22)	244.18 (SD=13.82)	241.82 (SD=15.19)
MCAT composite score	31.83 (SD=3.14)	32.58 (SD=3.11)	30.95 (SD=2.95)	31.79 (SD=3.23)	31.87 (SD=3.05)

Abbreviations: USMLE, United States Medical Licensing Examination; CK, Clinical Knowledge; MCAT, Medical College Admission Test.

Table 2 Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for variables predicting count of honors grades received in core clinical clerkships for medical students graduating in 2013–2017 from two US medical schools (N=1,511)

Variables	β	t	R	R^2	∆R^2
Stage 1			0.40	0.16	0.16
Institution	0.38	16.09***
Gender	0.08	3.41**
Stage 2			0.46	0.21	0.05
Institution	0.38	16.53***
Gender	0.14	6.04***
MCAT	0.24	10.18***
Stage 3			0.63	0.40	0.19
Institution	0.35	17.43***
Gender	0.18	8.56***
MCAT	0.05	2.27*
USMLE Step 1	0.48	21.86***
Stage 4			0.59	0.43	0.03
Institution	0.34	17.26***
Gender	0.16	7.95***
MCAT	0.04	1.76
USMLE Step 1	0.36	14.31***
USMLE Step 2 CK	0.22	9.26***

Notes: *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001.

Abbreviations: USMLE, United States Medical Licensing Examination; CK, Clinical Knowledge; MCAT, Medical College Admission Test.

Table S1 Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for variables predicting count of honors grades received in core clinical clerkships for medical students graduating in 2013–2017 from institution A (N=790)

Variables	β	t	R	R^2	∆R^2
Stage 1			0.093	0.01	0.01
Gender	0.09	2.61**
Stage 2			0.273	0.08	0.07
Gender	0.16	4.52***
MCAT	0.27	7.49***
Stage 3			0.518	0.268	0.19
Gender	0.22	6.83***
MCAT	0.09	2.60**
USMLE Step 1	0.48	14.41***
Stage 4			0.60	0.36	0.09
Gender	0.18	5.88***
MCAT	0.05	1.48
USMLE Step 1	0.21	5.25***
USMLE Step 2 CK	0.41	10.56***

Notes: **P<0.01, ***P<0.001.

Abbreviations: USMLE, United States Medical Licensing Examination; CK, clinical knowledge; MCAT, Medical College Admission Test.

Table S2 Summary of hierarchical regression analysis for variables predicting count of honors grades received in core clinical clerkships for medical students graduating in 2013–2017 from institution B (N=721)

Variables	β	t	R	R^2	∆R^2
Stage 1			0.08	0.01	0.01
Gender	0.08	2.09*
Stage 2			0.258	0.07	0.06
Gender	0.15	3.89***
MCAT	0.26	6.82***
Stage 3			0.575	0.330	0.263
Gender	0.16	5.03***
MCAT	0.01	0.324
USMLE Step 1	0.57	16.76***
Stage 4			0.62	0.39	0.06
Gender	0.11	3.60***
MCAT	−0.00	−0.04
USMLE Step 1	0.33	7.41***
USMLE Step 2 CK	0.34	8.00***

Notes: *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001.

Abbreviations: USMLE, United States Medical Licensing Examination; CK, Clinical Knowledge; MCAT, Medical College Admission Test.