K. Hudak1, J. Porterfield2, H. Chen2, J. White2 1University Of Alabama At Birmingham,School Of Medicine,Birmingham, AL, USA 2University Of Alabama At Birmingham,Department Of Surgery,Birmingham, AL, USA
Introduction: Technology-driven online educational tools have expanded educational opportunities for surgical residents beyond the traditional formats. We sought to evaluate changes in American Board of Surgery In-Training Exam (ABSITE) percentage scores with participation in a competitive software-based question bank.
Methods: We designed a novel software program at our institution, which utilizes a gamified web-based competition to encourage participation in general surgery question banks. Questions were designed and evaluated by surgical faculty members. General surgery residents at a large academic medical center who participated in the ABSITE exam during 2016 and 2017 were given the option to participate in question-based competition rounds. We analyzed the percent correct score increase in ABSITE scores for participants and non-participants.
Results: Thirty residents completed the ABSITE exam in both 2016 and 2017. Twenty-two residents participated in the question gaming platform. Participants averaged 20.8 percent completion of the extensive question bank. The average ABSITE score percentage for participants was 73.4 percent correct, while non-participants averaged 71.6 percent correct. The average ABSITE score percent increase from 2016 to 2017 was calculated for both participants and non-participants (3.25% vs. -0.28%).
Conclusion: Surgical residents at our institution who participated in our gamified surgical knowledge competition, on average increased their ABSITE score relative to non-participants. This suggests that incorporation of this novel educational tool is a method for improving general surgery resident performance on the ABSITE.