Browsing by Subject "Step 1"

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    Celiac Disease in Medical Curriculum
    (2025-04-25) Kerns, Elizabeth; Husmann, Polly
    Introduction/Background: Students attending US medical schools are often turning to commercial resources as a primary learning tool during their preclinical years. However, the quality and content of the material presented within these sources has not been widely studied. This study sought to compare sources of preclinical medical education using celiac disease, a common autoimmune illness. Celiac disease has an exceedingly variable range of presentations across many body systems, including subclinical symptoms. Despite accessible testing and treatment, most individuals with celiac have not been diagnosed, imposing significant disease burden. Study objective/Hypothesis: This study sought to evaluate and compare the IUSM preclinical curriculum and popular commercial resources regarding their presentation of celiac disease. Methods: After conducting a literature review, an evidence-based rubric was created to evaluate information about celiac disease. The rubric was applied to the IUSM preclinical curriculum and USMLE World, First Aid for the USMLE Step 1, and Boards and Beyond, commercial resources widely used by preclinical medical students. Results: The IUSM curriculum scored higher overall and higher in all but one category than all the commercial resources. USMLE World had the highest score of the commercial resources. All sources showed deficits in two or more categories. Conclusions: All sources assessed exhibit opportunities for improvement. However, the IUSM curriculum presented more thorough information regarding celiac disease. Although the commercial resources included within this study are used by students to prepare for standardized exams, they may be more concerned with improving test scores than providing students with the information needed to become effective physicians. Students may gain more complete information regarding celiac disease from the IUSM curriculum.
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    Optimism and Step 1
    (2020-03-06) Schleinkofer, Nathan; Kochhar, Komal; Walvoord, Emily C.
    Optimism is a personality trait that correlates with improved coping skills, physical health, and emotional wellbeing. Various interventions have been shown to increase optimistic thinking. To date, there have been few investigations into the effect of optimism on academic performance. For medical students, the USMLE Step 1 exam is a significant stressor that has a large impact on future career options. Beginning on February 27th 2019, one week after completing their foundational sciences curriculum, 2nd year medical students (n=112) at the Indiana University School of Medicine completed the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), which assesses dispositional optimism. The LOT-R includes six questions scored on a 5-point Likert Scale from “I disagree a lot” to “I agree a lot”. Higher scores indicate a higher level of optimism. Students were instructed to complete the LOT-R before sitting for the Step 1 exam between February 23rd and April 6th. The correlation between Optimism scores and Step 1 exam scores were examined. The study received approval from Indiana University’s Institutional Review Board. The Optimism scores ranged from 6 to 30, mean = 22. The mean for adults ages 18-30 is 22.1. Step 1 exam scores ranged from 189 to 268, mean = 236.4. There was a small positive correlation (Pearson 0.257) between Optimism scores and Step 1 exam scores (p=0.006). There were no gender differences in Optimism or Step 1 exam scores. These results indicate that optimism may be a potentially significant factor associated with medical student performance, specifically on the USMLE Step 1 exam. Further research should investigate if a causal relationship exists between the two factors. If such a relationship is found, interventions specifically targeted to increase optimism may prove useful for improving student academic performance and possibly their overall wellbeing.