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[factoid]

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i'm a prelim surgery intern and i was shocked to find out i gotta take the absite exam along with the categoricals. what's this exam all about? any other prelims out there taking this exam? do you have to pass it?

thanks

 

[Smurfette]

The ABSITE is a standardized exam for all gen surg residents in the US. You are scored against the others at your level of training.

You probably don't have to pass it, but if you are looking for a Gen Surg spot for next year, doing well on the ABSITE could help, and doing poorly on it could hurt you.

 

[Winged Scapula]

All general surgery residents, whether categorial, designated or non-designated prelims, have to take it. Its offered on the last Saturday in January.

Its really up to your home department as to how much emphasis they put on it. Some surgical subspecialties pride themselves on having their residents do well on this exam; others don't really care as long as you show up to take it.

There are lots of threads about the ABSITE on this forum; a search might help you find more information.

 

[GenSurg]

At my program the prelims DID NOT take the ABSITE unless they wanted to. If they were interested in continuing in gen surg, and wanted to take the test, they had to pay for it.

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[fourthyear]

a friend of mine at another program told me the test will be different this year - more clinical/less basic science for the senior level residents, but still the same old basic science-heavy test for the 1st and 2nd year residents.

is there any truth to this and if so where can I find any confirmation of this fact? my program really hasn't given me much information about it. thanks

 

[njbmd]

a friend of mine at another program told me the test will be different this year - more clinical/less basic science for the senior level residents, but still the same old basic science-heavy test for the 1st and 2nd year residents.

is there any truth to this and if so where can I find any confirmation of this fact? my program really hasn't given me much information about it. thanks

Hi there,
Every resident, regardless of year, takes the same exam. It is then graded and scaled for your year. You and your chief resident will do the same 285 questions. The higher the year, the more your are expected to get correct.

Happy reading!
njbmd 🙂

 

[Amy]

BTW, this is not a pass/fail exam. You just get a score, based on how you did compared to everyone else (standardized). It's just a way for your program to keep tabs on you, and make sure you're learning something.

 

[Winged Scapula]

a friend of mine at another program told me the test will be different this year - more clinical/less basic science for the senior level residents, but still the same old basic science-heavy test for the 1st and 2nd year residents.

is there any truth to this and if so where can I find any confirmation of this fact? my program really hasn't given me much information about it. thanks

My Program Director mentioned this to me just a couple of days ago...seems to be true.