Prospective Factors that Predict American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination Performance: A Systematic Review

American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) performance has become an important factor when monitoring resident progress. Understanding which prospective factors predict performance can help identify residents at risk.

A literature search was conducted searching PubMed, EMBASE, and JAMA Network from June 2011 to June 2021, in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Searches were performed for the terms "ABSITE" and "American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination." Prospective factors such as prior examination performance, clinical evaluations, and demographics were evaluated.

A final 35 studies were included. The prospective factor most consistently found to predict ABSITE performance is performance on prior knowledge-based examinations such as the USMLE step exams. The ACGME Medical Knowledge 1 milestone evaluation also appears to correlate to ABSITE performance, although clinical evaluations, in general, do not. Demographics have no significant correlation to ABSITE performance.

Using performance on prior knowledge-based examinations programs may be able to identify residents at risk for failing ABSITE. It may be possible to initiate early intervention before rather than only remediation after poor performance.