The Impact of a Structured ABSITE® Remediation Program on Resident Performance. J Surg Educ 2025 Sep 15:103696
Date
09/17/2025Pubmed ID
40957848DOI
10.1016/j.jsurg.2025.103696Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105015952059 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)Abstract
OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify the impact of a formalized American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE®) remediation program at our institution, with a primary outcome of avoidance of ongoing remediation.
DESIGN: Residents with ABSITE® scores below predetermined performance metric targets were assigned to a mandatory remediation program consisting of assigned quizzes through a purchased question bank repository, faculty meetings with individualized learning plan (ILP) development, and a mock ABSITE®. Question bank usage and performance were compared to ABSITE® performance standardized to the national median for the training year.
SETTING: This work was conducted within the Medical College of Wisconsin academic general surgery residency program (Milwaukee, WI) across the 2023-2025 academic years.
PARTICIPANTS: Ten residents were assigned to the remediation program, based on scores below the 30th percentile on the 2023 ABSITE®, and 5 additional residents utilized the question bank but were not in remediation for the 2023-2024 academic year. Five residents were assigned to the remediation program, based on predetermined percent correct targets for postgraduate training year for the 2024 ABSITE®, and 32 additional residents utilized the question bank but were not in remediation for the 2024-2025 academic year.
RESULTS: Across the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 academic years, 5 (50%) and 2 (40%) residents within the remediation programs improved their ABSITE® performance above the remediation threshold for the following year. During the first study year, a higher volume of practice question performance correlated with more profound score improvement, particularly when completed gradually throughout the academic year. Significant correlations were also observed between mock ABSITE® scores and ABSITE® performance during both study years.
CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of a formal ABSITE® remediation program at our institution was associated with improved resident performance, highlighting the value of structured support and informing ongoing efforts to address persistent underperformance.
Author List
Holland HK, Hosseini T, Turner HM, Higgins RM, Peschman JR, Kugler NWAuthors
Rana Higgins MD Associate Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of WisconsinJacob R. Peschman MD Associate Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
