Correlation of Mock Board Examination Scores During Anatomic Pathology Residency Training with Performance on the Certifying Examination.

Mock board exams are common in residency programs across many disciplines. However, the value of mock board results in predicting success on the actual certifying examination is largely anecdotal and undocumented. The University of Tennessee anatomic pathology residency program has a long history of giving mock board exams twice a year during the course of the 3-year diagnostic training program. The mock exams give residents a sense of the types of questions that may appear on the actual certifying examination. The resulting scores serve to help identify improvement areas to focus additional study. In addition, by providing residents the mental and physical experiences designed to mimic the test day, we hope to better prepare these trainees for optimal performance on the certifying examination. This study correlated mock board results of 16 anatomic pathology residents, from July 2006 through January 2016, with their subsequent performance on the certifying exam. The results of these biannual exams were significantly correlated (p < .001) with results for the American College of Veterinary Pathologists Certifying Examination.

Gadolinium contrast medium administration does not adversely affect T2*-weighted gradient recalled echo magnetic resonance imaging of the canine brain at 1.5 Tesla.

As gadolinium-based contrast agents are paramagnetic and have T2 shortening effects, they have the potential to adversely affect gradient recalled echo sequences. The aim of this prospective, cross-sectional study was to evaluate the effects of gadolinium administration on T2*-weighted sequence diagnostic quality and signal intensity when imaging the canine brain. A total of 100 dogs underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including pre- and postcontrast T2*-weighted sequences acquired with a delay (Group A) or immediately (Group B) following gadolinium administration. Pre- and postcontrast images were subjectively compared. In dogs with intracranial enhancing masses, regions of interest were drawn on corresponding images and signal intensity ratios were calculated. The effect of degree and pattern of contrast enhancement, susceptibility artifacts, and time between contrast injection and T2*-weighted sequence acquisition on signal intensity ratio was evaluated. Overall 31 dogs had contrast enhancing intracranial masses. Subjectively, there was no difference in image quality of T2*-weighted sequences obtained before and after contrast medium administration. No significant signal intensity differences of intracranial contrast enhancing masses were found (Group A P = 0.9999; Group B P = 0.9992). Susceptibility artifacts did not differ in appearance, and there was no effect on calculated signal intensity ratio (P = 0.8142). Similarly, there was no effect of degree of enhancement or contrast heterogeneity on signal intensity ratio (P = 0.4413). No correlation was found between signal intensity ratio and the time to acquisition (P = 0.199). Administration of gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents does not adversely affect T2*-weighted imaging of the brain in dogs at 1.5 T even in the presence of contrast enhancing lesions.