International Journal of Surgery & Surgical Techniques ISSN: 2578-482X MEDWIN PUBLISHERS Commited to Create Value for researchers SCORE Usage Correlates with ABSITE Percentile in Surgery Residents Int J Surg Surgical Tech SCORE Usage Correlates with ABSITE Percentile in Surgery Residents Tarras SL ,Somerset AE, White MT and Edelman DA* Department of Surgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, USA *Corresponding author: David A Edelman, Department of Surgery, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 3990 John R Detroit, MI-48201, USA, Tel: 313-745-8775; Email: dedelman@ med.wayne.edu Research Article Volume 4 Issue 2 Received Date: June 12, 2020 Published Date: June 23, 2020 DOI: 10.23880/ijsst-16000148 Abstract The Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) program was designed to create a national surgical curriculum for residents. This curriculum includes a list of topics to be covered in a five-year general surgery residency training program. A resident in-service exam (ABSITE) is administered annually to assess knowledge of applied science and management of clinical problems. We hypothesized that resident use of the SCORE curriculum positively correlates with ABSITE scores. All PGY-2, PGY-3, and PGY-4 general surgery residents for two academic cycles (July 1, 2017 through January 24, 2019) were included. Individual total time on the SCORE portal in minutes was collected. ABSITE scores for the same time period were used for comparison. Residents who scored 30th percentile or below were identified as requiring remediation. The data was analyzed with descriptive statistics, student’s-t test, and ANOVA with p<0.05 considered significant. There were 51 residents included in the study (16 PGY-2s, 17 PGY-3s, and 18 PGY-4s). There was no difference in SCORE usage (p=0.648) or ABSITE percentile (p=0.353) between the different PGYs. There were 20 residents that scored 30th percentile or below on the ABSITE. The residents that scored above the 30th percentile used SCORE significantly longer (2742 min vs. 1164 min) compared to residents that scored 30th percentile or below (p=0.022). Increased usage of the SCORE portal was associated with higher performance on the ABSITE. Further investigation is needed to determine which aspects of the portal lead to improved scores. This study provides additional evidence that surgery residents should use the SCORE portal to achieve appropriate surgical and clinical knowledge. Keywords: General surgery; Surgical Council; Surgery Residents Abbreviations: ABSITE: The American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination; QE; Qualifying Exam; SCORE: Surgical Council on Resident Education; CCC: Clinical Competency Committee; ACES: Accelerated Clinical Education in Surgery. Introduction The American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) is a multiple-choice examination administered to surgery residents in the United States since 1975 [1]. The ABSITE is offered annually and is designed to measure the progress attained by residents in their knowledge of applied science and management of clinical problems related to surgery. Following completion of residency, the General Surgery Qualifying Exam (QE) is one of two exams taken to obtain board certification. ABSITE scores have been shown to correlate with future performance on the QE [2]. Therefore, ABSITE scores are of upmost importance during surgical residency. The ABSITE exam is standardized and considered reproducible [3]. Thus, surgical residency program directors utilize ABSITE scores as one of the measures to assess resident performance [4]. According to the American Board of Surgery, the ABSITE is furnished to program directors as a formative evaluation instrument to assess resident progress [5]. Program directors of surgical residencies therefore utilize ABSITE scores to evaluate clinical competency, medical knowledge, overall progress, and appropriate promotion within the residency program [4].