2009 APDS SPRING MEETING Enhancing Resident Interest in a State Surgical Meeting George M. Fuhrman, MD, Jana MacLeod, MD, Carole Ehleben, EdD, and Keith Delman, MD Departments of Surgery, Atlanta Medical Center and Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia OBJECTIVES: To stimulate increased interest in the annual American College of Surgery (ACS) chapter meeting, a state- wide mock oral examination for senior level surgical residents was organized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of and the results from our state’s initial attempt to conduct a state-wide mock oral examination. METHODS: The mock oral examination was structured as a 90-minute assessment in 9 content areas. Residents at or above the postgraduate year (PGY)-3 level were offered the examina- tion and every attempt was made to ensure that examiners were from institutions different than the examinee’s training pro- gram. Examinations were scored as satisfactory, marginal, or unsatisfactory. Each examinee received a written assessment of their performance. RESULTS: Thirty-eight volunteer examiners committed to participate and 37 of the state’s 82 senior-level residents ap- peared for the mock oral examination. The examiners included faculty from all 7 of the state’s training programs and 10 private practice surgeons. The residents represented 6 of the 7 pro- grams with 10 PGY-3, 12 PGY-4, and 15 PGY-5 residents completing the examination. The overall performance on the examination included 15 (40.5%) residents rated as satisfac- tory, 15 (40.5%) assessed as marginal, and 7 (18.9%) received a rating of unsatisfactory. CONCLUSIONS: With rare exception, faculty examiners and resident examinees indicated by survey that the mock oral ex- amination was a useful educational experience and increased the level of interest in attending the state’s annual ACS meeting. (J Surg 67:190-193. © 2010 Association of Program Directors in Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) KEY WORDS: American College of Surgery, American Board of Surgery, mock oral examination COMPETENCY: Medical Knowledge, Communication, and Interpersonal Skills, Professionalism INTRODUCTION After 2007, the Georgia Surgical Society and the Georgia chap- ter of the American College of Surgery (ACS) separated their annual meetings. The Georgia Surgical Society enjoys a rich tradition and boasts a membership that includes many of the state’s most prominent surgeons. The meeting is held at 1 of the numerous outstanding resort venues located in Georgia and includes distinguished speakers as well as many social activities. The Georgia chapter of the ACS, while enjoying an equally rich history and impressive membership roster, has focused primar- ily on involving the state’s surgical trainees in their meeting with an annual resident research competition that would dom- inate their portion of the meeting. The leadership of the Geor- gia chapter of the American College of Surgeons expressed con- cern that attendance at the annual meeting might suffer once the 2 meetings were separated. To stimulate increased interest in the annual ACS chapter meeting, a decision was made to initiate a state-wide mock oral examination for senior level sur- gical residents. This effort was considered worthwhile by the state’s leadership to provide a mock oral examination for resi- dents by unfamiliar faculty to recreate the tension associated with the ACS certifying examination. This tension would pro- vide a unique and enhanced education experience for residents compared with mock oral examinations administered at their home programs by familiar faculty. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of and the results from our state’s initial attempt to conduct a state-wide mock oral examination. METHODS An e-mail was sent to all members of the Georgia chapter of the ACS announcing the mock oral program and each member was solicited to become a volunteer examiner. The program direc- tors of the state’s 7 surgical training programs (Emory, Atlanta Medical Center, Morehouse, Medical College of Georgia, Ft. Gor- don military program, Mercer-Macon, and Mercer-Savannah) were contacted announcing the opportunity to examine all res- idents at or above the PGY-3 level. Program Directors were responsible for registering their trainees for the mock oral ex- amination. The annual meeting was scheduled at the Emory Correspondence: Inquiries to George M. Fuhrman, MD, Atlanta Medical Center and Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Surgery, 303 Park Way NE, At- lanta, GA 30312; fax: 404-265-4989; e-mail: george.fuhrman@tenethealth.com Journal of Surgical Education • © 2010 Association of Program Directors in Surgery 1931-7204/$30.00 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jsurg.2010.02.012 190