Do patients whose doctors had higher USMLE scores really have better clinical outcomes? A recent paper written by authors from the National Board of Medical Examiners claims that they do.

Sounds like it’s time for a Sheriff of Sodium Journal Club.

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NOTES:

1. Here’s the paper, which found an association between higher USMLE scores and lower inhospital mortality and shorter length of stay:

Norcini J, et al. The associations between USMLE performance and outcomes of patient care. Acad Med 2024; 99(3): 325330.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37816...


2. Here’s the study on whether darkerskinned soccer players were more likely to receive red cards:

Silberzahn R, et al. Many analysts, one dataset: making transparent how variations in analytical choices affect results.

https://osf.io/gvm2z/


3. Here’s the paper I mentioned that evaluated differences in clinical outcomes between MD and DO physicians:

Miyawaki A, et al. Comparison of hospital outcomes for patients treated by allopathic versus osteopathic hospitalists: an observational study. Ann Intern Med 2023; 176(6): 798806.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37247...

…as well as the accompanying editorial:

Wray CM, Carmody JB. Equal and no longer separate: examining quality of care provided osteopathic and allopathic physicians. Ann Intern Med 2023; 176(6): 868869.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37247...


4. More on the Matthew Effect, from Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew...

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MUSIC:
‘Clutch,’ by Nicolas Major.