title: The relationship between second-year medical students' OSCE scores and USMLE Step 1 scores.
abstract: The relationship between objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) and standardized tests is not well known. We linked second-year medical students' physical diagnosis OSCE scores from 1998, 1999 and 2000 (n = 355) with demographic information, Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores, and United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 scores. The correlation coefficient for the total OSCE score with USMLE Step 1 score was 0.41 (p < 0.001). Two of 7 skills areas-diagnosis and identification of abnormality-were significant multivariate correlates of USMLE Step 1 score. OSCE station scores accounted for approximately 22% of the variability in USMLE Step 1 scores. A second-year OSCE in physical diagnosis is correlated with scores on the USMLE Step 1 exam, with skills that foreshadow the clinical clerkships most predictive of USMLE scores. This correlation suggests predictive validity of this OSCE and supports the use of OSCEs early in medical school.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, Boston, MA 02215, USA. steven_simon@hms.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Volkan
authors.forename: Claus
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hamann
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duffey
authors.forename: Suzanne W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Fletcher
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001900:Boston; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003933:Diagnosis; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D010808:Physical Examination / Q000592:standards*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results