A multilevel analysis of the relationships between examinee gender and United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) Step 2 CK content area performance

Purpose To examine the effect of (1) gender on Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) content area performance, (2) gender on the relationships between Step 1 scores and Step 2 CK content area performance, and (3) medical school characteristics on the relationships between examinee characteristics and Step 2 CK content area performance. Method The sample included 23,538 examinees from 136 Liaison Committee on Medical Education-accredited medical schools/campuses. Descriptive statistics were computed, and a series of examineesnested-in-schools hierarchical linear models was conducted. Results Observed differences indicated that women generally outperformed men in most content areas and that controlling for Step 1 scores increased these gender-related score differences. Step 1 scores were more associated with Step 2 CK content area performance for men. School characteristics were generally unrelated to the relationships between examinee characteristics and Step 2 CK content area performance. Conclusions While past research indicated that women outperformed men in some content areas, and men outperformed women in others, the current study revealed a somewhat different pattern, with women outperforming men in most content areas.