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Reading Habits of General Surgery Residents and Association With American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination Performance JAMA SURGERY Kim, J. J., Kim, D. Y., Kaji, A. H., Gifford, E. D., Reid, C., Sidwell, R. A., Reeves, M. E., Hartranft, T. H., Inaba, K., Jarman, B. T., Are, C., Galante, J. M., Amersi, F., Smith, B. R., Melcher, M. L., Nelson, T., Donahue, T., Jacobsen, G., Arnell, T. D., de Virgilio, C. 2015; 150 (9): 882-889

Abstract

Few large-scale studies have quantified and characterized the study habits of surgery residents. However, studies have shown an association between American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) scores and subsequent success on the American Board of Surgery Qualifying and Certifying examinations.To identify the quantity of studying, the approach taken when studying, the role that ABSITE preparation plays in resident reading, and factors associated with ABSITE performance.An anonymous 39-item questionnaire including demographic information, past performance on standardized examinations, reading habits, and study sources during the time leading up to the 2014 ABSITE and opinions pertaining to the importance of the ABSITE was administered August 1, 2014, to August 25, 2014, to 371 surgery residents in 15 residency programs nationwide.Scores from the 2014 ABSITE.A total of 273 residents (73.6%) responded to the survey. Seven respondents did not provide their January 2014 ABSITE score, leaving 266 for statistical analysis. Most respondents were male (162 of 266 [60.9%]), with a mean (SD) age of 29.8 (2.6) years. The median number of minutes spent studying per month was 240 (interquartile range, 120-600 minutes) for patient care or clinical duties and 120 for the ABSITE (interquartile range, 30-360 minutes). One hundred sixty-four of 266 respondents (61.7%) reported reading consistently throughout the year for patient care or clinical duties. With respect to ABSITE preparation, 72 of 266 residents (27.1%) reported reading consistently throughout the year, while 247 of 266 residents (92.9%) reported preparing between 1 and 8 weeks prior to the examination. Univariate analysis (with results reported as effect on median ABSITE percentile scores [95% CIs]) identified the following factors as positively correlated with ABSITE scores: prior United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) 1 and 2 scores (per 1-point increase: USMLE 1, 0.1 [0.02-0.14], P =?.03; USMLE 2, 0.3 [0.19-0.44], P

View details for DOI 10.1001/jamasurg.2015.1698

View details for Web of Science ID 000367584100013