The USMLE® STEP 1 Pass or Fail Era of the Vascular Surgery Residency Application Process: Implications for Structural Bias and Recommendations

United States Medical Licensing Examination & REG; (USMLE & REG;) STEP 1 score reporting has been changed to a binary pass/fail format since January 26, 2022. The motives behind this change were (1) the questionable validity of using USMLE STEP 1 as a screening tool during the candi-date selection process and (2) the negative impact of using standardized examination scores as an initial gatekeeping threshold for the underrepresented in medicine (URiM) candidates applying to graduate medical education programs, given their generally lower mean standard-ized exams scores compared to non-URiM students. The USMLE administrators justified this change as a tactic to enhance the overall educational experience for all students and to increase the representation of URiM groups. Moreover, they advised the program directors (PDs) to give more attention to other important qualities and components such as the applicant's personality traits, leadership roles and other extracurricular accomplishments, as part of a holistic evaluation strategy. At this early stage, it is unclear how this change will impact Vascular Surgery Integrated residency (VSIR) programs. Several questions are outstanding, most importantly, how VSIR PDs will evaluate applicants absent the variable which heretofore was the primary screening tool. Our previously published survey showed that VSIR PDs will move their attention to other measures such as USMLE STEP 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) and letters of recommendation dur-ing the VSIR selection process. Furthermore, more emphasis on subjective measures such as the applicant's medical school rank and extracurricular student activities is expected. Given the expected higher weight of USMLE STEP 2CK in the selection process than ever, many antici-pate that medical students will dedicate more of their limited time to its preparation at the expense of both clinical and nonclinical activities. Potentially leaving less time to explore spe-cialty pathways and to determine whether Vascular Surgeons is the appropriate career for them. The critical juncture in the VSIR candidate evaluation paradigm presents an opportunity to thoughtfully transform the process via current (Standardized Letter of Recommendation,