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American Board of Surgery In-Training Exam Performance Predicted by Question Bank Use While Unassociated With Other
Nicole E Brooks1, Judith C French2, Himani Sancheti3
1Digestive Diseases and Surgery Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio.
The Journal of Surgical Research
|June 2, 2024
Summary
Utilizing question banks (QBs) significantly improves American Board of Surgery In-Training Exam (ABSITE) performance, unlike passive learning methods. Higher QB usage and scores correlate with better ABSITE results for surgical residents.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Surgical Training
- Cognitive Assessment
Background:
- Optimal curricula for teaching cognitive surgical knowledge lack consensus.
- The American Board of Surgery In-Training Exam (ABSITE) assesses resident knowledge acquisition.
- Existing learning resources (question banks, SCORE, conferences) show mixed results and are often studied independently.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the relationship between various learning strategies and ABSITE performance.
- To determine the relative educational value of different learning methods in general surgery residency.
Main Methods:
- Collected data on question bank (QB) use and scores, Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) curriculum use, and didactic conference attendance from 2017-2022.
- Analyzed ABSITE percentile scores, categorizing residents into ≤30th and >30th percentile groups.
- Employed linear quantile mixed regressions and generalized linear mixed models to identify factors associated with ABSITE performance.
Main Results:
- A significant positive correlation was found between ABSITE performance and both the number of QB questions completed and QB scores.
- No significant relationship was observed between ABSITE performance and SCORE use or didactic conference attendance.
- Residents scoring above the 30th percentile demonstrated significantly higher QB scores.
Conclusions:
- Question bank utilization and performance are strongly linked to improved ABSITE scores.
- Passive learning methods like SCORE and didactic conferences did not show a significant impact on ABSITE performance in this study.
- Active learning strategies, particularly question bank use, are effective for enhancing surgical residents' cognitive knowledge and ABSITE outcomes.
