American Board of Surgery In-Training Exam Performance Predicted by Question Bank Use While Unassociated With Other Learning Strategies.

INTRODUCTION: There is no consensus regarding optimal curricula to teach cognitive elements of general surgery. The American Board of Surgery In-Training Exam (ABSITE) aims to measure trainees' progress in attaining this knowledge. Resources like question banks (QBs), Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) curriculum, and didactic conferences have mixed findings related to ABSITE performance and are often evaluated in isolation. This study characterized relationships between multiple learning methods and ABSITE performance to elucidate the relative educational value of learning strategies. METHODS: Use and score of QB, SCORE use, didactic conference attendance, and ABSITE percentile score were collected at an academic general surgery residency program from 2017 to 2022. QB data were available in the years 2017-2018 and 2021-2022 during institutional subscription to the same platform. Given differences in risk of qualifying exam failure, groups of ≤30th and >30th percentile were analyzed. Linear quantile mixed regressions and generalized linear mixed models determined factors associated with ABSITE performance. RESULTS: Linear quantile mixed regressions revealed a relationship between ABSITE performance and QB questions completed (1.5 percentile per 100 questions, P < 0.001) and QB score (1.2 percentile per 1% score, P < 0.001), but not with SCORE use and didactic attendance. Performers >30th percentile had a significantly higher QB score. CONCLUSIONS: Use and score of QB had a significant relationship with ABSITE performance, while SCORE use and didactic attendance did not. Performers >30th percentile completed a median 1094 QB questions annually with a score of 65%. Results emphasize success of QB use as an active learning strategy, while passive learning methods warrant further evaluation.

Evaluating the educational effectiveness of an 8-week patient management course for surgical interns: A nine-year analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Our general surgery program mandates an 8-week "intern school" (IS) for matriculating surgery interns. The course consists of a pre-test, didactics, and a post-test. We hypothesized IS exam performance would correlate with American Board of Surgery In Training Examination (ABSITE) scores.∖ METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of IS pre- and post-tests and ABSITE scores for all OHSU surgery interns from 2010 to 2018. McNemar's, chi-square, and Pearson tests were calculated. RESULTS: The pre and post-test pass rate for 293 interns was 26% vs. 86% (p < 0.001). Categorical interns were more likely to pass the pre-test (33% vs 11% p = 0.004), and the post-test (96% vs 83% p = 0.007) than non-designated interns and more likely to pass the post-test than designated preliminary intern (96% vs 80%, p = 0.0014). There was no correlation between IS exams and ABSITE performance. DISCUSSION: IS improves exam performance, but IS test scores do not correlate with ABSITE scores, and the program is not a means to identify interns at risk of poor ABSITE performance.