What Impact will the Changes Announced in USMLE have on Successful Matching of International Medical Graduates in Residency Programs in the United States?

Abstract

All international medical graduates intending to join an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited clinical residency programs must obtain certification from the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates. A pre-requisite for obtaining this certification is the need to graduate from a medical school listed in the World Directory of Medical Schools and to pass all three steps of United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). While the outcome of all three steps is important and considered during the evaluation of an applicant for residency training in the United States, the numerical score of Step 1 has generally been considered as one of the most important metrics during this process. However, as of 2022, USMLE Step 1 will be scored on a Pass/Fail basis eliminating the advantage afforded to the international medical graduates who traditionally scored relatively high on this step of the exam. It is therefore imperative that to succeed in obtaining a competitive residency program in the United States, international medical graduates must consider acquire additional experience and expertise in the areas of research, publications, clinical electives in United States, networking with program participants, etc.