The dialogue surrounding Step 1 has nothing to actually do with Step 1, it has to do with the fact that there are more medical programs being expanded on an annual basis from three different sources MD/DO/Caribbean resulting in a growth in the student population looking for a Match in residency programs that have not accelerated at a similar rate.
There are many ways to approach an oversaturation problem, the easiest is to apply clamps and cut off circulation. Stop new schools and expansion of old programs continually expanding student slots, use hard caps and audit schools. Punish schools that break these formalities by removing their accreditation.
This is a critical time where schools need to act moderately rather than be tempted by opening a school at a time where tuition rates and students loans are at an all time high...
First, to the OP: yes I would consider it, as it would make me a doctor. But you did not define what would be required to get in to the feeder program. And second, would be concerned about medical schools determining that a 220 on step one is not good enough to become a doctor much like what has become of the MCAT.
To Pina Colada and anyone else;
I agree there is a problem with medical school expansion, and while I think money plays a factor, I also think that there are further underlying problems. There is a primary care shortage, and it’s growing. How do we fix it? I think most schools - like DO and others that have expanded - believe that pumping out MORE physicians will close the gap. But the problem with this is that the selection system is broken.
40 years ago, the average gpa for MD alone was only near a 3.0 and while I can’t find scores for the NMBE that long ago, I can find that the USMLE for step 1 has increased 7 points in 10 years; so how much has the average scores increased since its inception? Are we to believe that physicians that are practicing now are dumb and couldn’t make it to or through the entire med school process of today? Are we really to believe grade inflation has occurred that much? Are we to believe that the licensing exams have inflated that much? I don’t think so, some inflation sure, but that much, no. Leaving one to make the conclusion that there are perfectly great candidates being passed over in hoards by medical schools based solely on MCATs and GPAs. Further proved by the increasing mean of GPAs and MCATs at both MD AND DO schools.
I can hear it now, “What’s the problem with this. It’s competitive. So stay competitive. Life isn’t fair, etc.” But the problem is that the gpa and mcat that are reflective of an applicant that - statistically - will be successful are much lower than the mean.
So, overwhelmingly, it makes sense that smarter and smarter people are getting in. And what do hardworking, intelligent people do in med school? They ace their boards. BUT, intelligent, hard working people are - in and of themselves - not dumb. WHY go into primary care and make some of the least amount of pay when you can pick a specialty and make 3 times more? Especially since medical school prices have skyrocketed and interest rates are so high. They wouldn’t and do not; which now creates a primary care shortage and thus a self-fulfilling prophecy.
If med schools want primary care physicians, they shouldn’t expect rocket scientists with 10484829 ECs out of undergraduates. Further, myself (n=1) would be more inclined to go into primary care if the pay was better especially compared to the debt. But I can do the same thing in family practice as I could in EM, and make more than double that of a FM.
So, if you want to clamp down on medical schools expanding and shut down the ones that do, it should also be required that they don’t continue to inflate their acceptance statistics just to look good as a 500 MCATer could be a better doctor than a 525 MCATer AND might actually want to do primary care (and statistically wouldn’t score as competitively on boards which reduces probability to specialize).
