Research Preparedness Among Osteopathic Medical Students in the Post-Pass/Fail Licensing Examination Era: Bridging the Gap Between Rising Expectations and Student Confidence.

BACKGROUND

Since the transition of COMLEX Level 1 and USMLE Step 1 to pass/fail scoring, research productivity has become an increasingly important component of residency applications. National match data demonstrate increasing expectations for research experiences, abstracts, presentations, and publications across specialties. However, limited data describe how osteopathic medical students perceive their research preparedness, access to institutional research resources, and confidence in achieving competitive scholarly productivity in the post-pass/fail licensing examination era.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey of osteopathic medical students assessed research preparedness, institutional support, perceived barriers, and preferred strategies to increase research involvement. Descriptive statistics and exploratory correlation analyses were performed.

RESULTS

A total of 136 osteopathic medical students completed the survey. Respondents expressed strong interest in participating in additional research (mean Likert score, 3.65/5), yet relatively few reported confidence initiating (13.6%), writing (25.8%), or publishing (17.1%) research. Confidence across these domains demonstrated good internal consistency and was combined into a composite 'Research Confidence' score for exploratory analyses. Greater prior research experience, scholarly output, and perceived institutional support were each positively associated with Research Confidence. The most frequently reported barriers were limited knowledge of project initiation, time constraints related to course load, and limited access to specialty-specific mentors. Nearly all respondents expressed interest in structured mentorship programs, whereas substantially fewer favored formal research coursework.

CONCLUSIONS

Osteopathic medical students report strong research interest but identify substantial institutional and structural barriers associated with lower perceived research preparedness and confidence. Greater research engagement and perceived institutional support were associated with higher Research Confidence, suggesting that mentorship and institutional research infrastructure may play important roles in preparing students for scholarly activity. These findings provide preliminary evidence to inform targeted institutional interventions and future multi-institutional studies examining research preparedness in the post-pass/fail licensing examination era.