WGEA 2024 Spring Conference

Presenters:
Jeffrey Riddell, MD, Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California
Shahrzad Bazargan-Hejazi, PhD, Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science
Jonathan Finkelstein, MD, MPH, Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine
Daniel Novak, PhD, University of California, Riverside

Topic: Student Affairs and Services

Rationale
Medical student research has become increasingly important in the NBME Step 1 exam pass/fail era. Students matching into competitive specialties in 2022 reported 2-3x more research items (abstracts, presentations, and publications) than students in those same specialties in 2009. While this trend was developing well before Step 1 moved to pass/fail, it has since accelerated, leaving students who hope to match into competitive specialties devoting more and more time outside of the formal curriculum to research activities. Some have referred to this trend as an ‘arms race,’ prompting leaders to question how we got here, what it means for students, and where we’re headed.