Scoring Changes to the ABSITE: The Trainee Perspective on Impact and Ramifications

The American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination will officially be switching from reporting percentile scores by year level to percent of questions correct. What does this change mean for residents? Podcast hosts Dr. Ananya Anand, Dr. Joe L’Huillier, and Dr. Rebecca Moreci are joined by three fellow CoSEF members for this discussion: Dr. Gus Godley, Dr. Colleen McDermott, and Dr. Josh Roshal.

Hosts:

–Dr. Ananya Anand, Stanford University, @AnanyaAnandMD, ananya_anand@stanford.edu

–Dr. Joseph L’Huillier, University at Buffalo, @JoeLHuillier101, josephlh@buffalo.edu

–Dr. Rebecca Moreci, Louisiana State University, @md_moreci, morecir@med.umich.edu

–COSEF: @surgedfellows

Special guests:

-Dr. Gus Godley, University of Chicago, frederick.godley@uchicagomedicine.org, @GusGodley

-Dr. Colleen McDermott, University of Utah, colleen.mcdermott@hsc.utah.edu

-Dr. Josh Roshal, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, jaroshal@utmb.edu, @Joshua_Roshal

Learning Objectives:

Listeners will:
– Understand the changes to the ABSITE score reporting by the American Board of Surgery

– Describe both positive impacts and limitations of this change from the resident perspective

– List possible ideas for further refinements to standardized exams in medicine

References:
-Yeo HL, Dolan PT, Mao J, Sosa JA. Association of Demographic and Program Factors With American Board of Surgery Qualifying and Certifying Examinations Pass Rates. JAMA Surg. Jan 1 2020;155(1):22-30. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2019.4081 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31617872/

-Sathe TS, Wang JJ, Yap A, Zhao NW, O’Sullivan P, Alseidi A. Proposed Reforms to the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE). https://www.ideasurg.pub/proposed-absite-reforms/

-Miller AT, Swain GW, Midmar M, Divino CM. How Important Are American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination Scores When Applying for Fellowships? J Surg Educ. 2010;67(3):149-151. doi:10.1016/j.jsurg.2010.02.007
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20630424/

-Savoie KB, Kulaylat AN, Huntington JT, Kelley-Quon L, Gonzalez DO, Richards H, Besner G, Nwomeh BC, Fisher JG. The pediatric surgery match by the numbers: Defining the successful application. J Pediatr Surg. 2020;55(6):1053-1057. doi:10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2020.02.052 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32197826/

-Alnahhal KI, Lyden SP, Caputo FJ, Sorour AA, Rowe VL, Colglazier JJ, Smith BK, Shames ML, Kirksey L. The USMLE® STEP 1 Pass or Fail Era of the Vascular Surgery Residency Application Process: Implications for Structural Bias and Recommendations. Annals of Vascular Surgery. 2023;94:195-204. doi:10.1016/j.avsg.2023.04.018
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37120072/

-Williams M, Kim EJ, Pappas K, Uwemedimo O, Marrast L, Pekmezaris R, Martinez J. The impact of United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) step 1 cutoff scores on recruitment of underrepresented minorities in medicine: A retrospective cross‐sectional study. Health Sci Rep. 2020;3(2):e2161. doi:10.1002/hsr2.161 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32318628/

-Lucey CR, Saguil A. The Consequences of Structural Racism on MCAT Scores and Medical School Admissions: The Past Is Prologue. Academic Medicine. 2020;95(3):351. doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000002939 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31425184/

-Natanson H, Svrluga S. The SAT is coming back at some colleges. It’s stressing everyone out. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2024/03/18/sat-test-policies-confuse-students/. Published March 19, 2024. Accessed April 5, 2024.

-de Virgilio C, Yaghoubian A, Kaji A, Collins JC, Deveney K, Dolich M, Easter D, Hines OJ, Katz S, Liu T, Mahmoud A, Melcher ML, Parks S, Reeves M, Salim A, Scherer L, Takanishi D, Waxman K.. Predicting Performance on the American Board of Surgery Qualifying and Certifying Examinations: A Multi-institutional Study. Archives of Surgery. 2010;145(9):852-856. doi:10.1001/archsurg.2010.177 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20855755/

-Weighted test content from the ABS:
https://www.absurgery.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GS-ITE.pdf

-USMLE program announces upcoming policy changes | USMLE. Accessed April 9, 2024. https://www.usmle.org/usmle-program-announces-upcoming-policy-changes

Please visit https://behindtheknife.org to access other high-yield surgical education podcasts, videos and more.

If you liked this episode, check out our recent episodes here: https://app.behindtheknife.org/listen