The American Board of Surgery examinations: how are the Southwestern Surgical Congress programs performing compared to the rest of the United States?

A scoping review of successful strategies for passing the American Board of Surgery certifying examination

“…There remain some non-modifiable structural characteristics of surgical programs that can predict success on the CE. For example, there seem to be regional variations [ 10 , [24] , [25] , [26] ], as well as superior performance by university-based over community programs [ 26 , 27 ]. In addition, military programs seem to have a higher pass rate than civilian programs [ 27 ].…”

Performance of Southeastern Surgical Congress Examinees on the American Board of Surgery Examinations: An Educational Opportunity for Regional Collaboration

“…Some of the most important educational outcomes involve performance on the American Board of Surgery (ABS) Qualifying Examination (QE) and Certifying Examination (CE). 2,3 There are known geographic variations in residency program and examinee performance on ABS examinations. 2,3 A recent study showed that examinees from the Southwest Surgical Congress (SWSC) outperformed examinees from programs outside the SWSC.…”

“…2,3 There are known geographic variations in residency program and examinee performance on ABS examinations. 2,3 A recent study showed that examinees from the Southwest Surgical Congress (SWSC) outperformed examinees from programs outside the SWSC. 2 The geographical comparisons between the SESC and the SWSC are seen in Figure 1A.…”

“…1,2 Another study showed that examinees in the South, as defined by the United States Census Bureau region, were outperformed on the ABS CE by the other Census Bureau regions; the 17 SESC members in that study had a median pass rate rank of 32 nd [interquartile range (IQR) (20 th -39 th )] out of 47. 3 The four main Census Bureau Regions are shown in Figure 1B. 3 With the educational mission and collaborative spirit of the SESC, and the importance of ABS examination performance at both the residency program and individual levels, the main purpose of this study is to evaluate regional performance of the SESC on these ABS examination outcome measures.…”

“…3 The four main Census Bureau Regions are shown in Figure 1B. 3 With the educational mission and collaborative spirit of the SESC, and the importance of ABS examination performance at both the residency program and individual levels, the main purpose of this study is to evaluate regional performance of the SESC on these ABS examination outcome measures. With the findings observed in other studies, the hypothesis is that the SESC residency programs and examinees are outperformed on the ABS examinations.…”