Ok so they finally changed the questions, but was it necessary to transform the senior exam to an IM shelf/USMLE. Is it only me who thought this was the hardest ABSITE they had ever taken ?
Weirdest ABSITE ever
- Thread starter Sarr
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I just sent everyone to the OR. I thought if I am going to fail it, I am gonna do it surgeon style.
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Agree with hardest absite, I knew I was going to take a severe beating about 20 questions in.
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I certainly wish I had read more about MALTomas and calciphylaxis ...at least it's over for another year
I took the junior, and I agree that this was more unsettling than the year before. I recognized a lot of classic questions, but just looking back at some of them I know there are a lot that I missed. It's very frustrating.
It shouldn't really matter if the questions were harder this year, as the percentile score will adjust for that.
I think it's a good idea to make the exam more difficult. It will lead to a softer percentile curve, and possibly shift questions to more closely resemble the QE.
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I think the basic questions were tough but then again I didn't study that much since its my last year, is there much difference in the percentile 4th yr vs 5th
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Agree with the "weirdness of the exam," though I took the junior and it was only my second time. Anyway, this may have been addressed previously, but I heard a rumor they are combining the exam and there will no longer be a separate Junior/Senior exam. Any truth to this that you have heard?
the junior exam seemed pretty straight forward. a few weird ards/vent questions. MUCH fewer questions about chemo drugs and abx mechanisms (last year it was ridiculous). in general i feel better about how i did today than how i felt at this time a year ago, who knows what that means though.
from talking to our seniors it sounds like there was a bigger discrepancy between the junior and senior exams this year than in recent years. maybe?
i've heard next year the ABS is getting rid of junior/senior, and everyone will take the same exam.
from talking to our seniors it sounds like there was a bigger discrepancy between the junior and senior exams this year than in recent years. maybe?
i've heard next year the ABS is getting rid of junior/senior, and everyone will take the same exam.
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That was how we rolled back in the day: one exam, one day per year. Everybody took it at the same time on the same day.
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I have heard this, directly from someone high up in the ABS. Unless something unexpected happens, I think you can expect 1 exam next year.
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For most of my residency, we all took it on Saturday morning (last Saturday in January), on Scantron.
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Yep Scantron. Is it computerized now?
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Yep; varying issues with that at first but it was pretty smooth for us this year. My intern year the server was so slow that there was a ~90 second to 3 minute wait while moving from one question to the next. That was painful.
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I heard that next year the interns get a week off before and after the test and the program directors can give out the answers. That way nobody can fail and get their feelings hurt.
Whatever happened to "if you cant pass the test you arent gonna pass the boards"
We are trying to train surgeons after all!!
Whatever happened to "if you cant pass the test you arent gonna pass the boards"
We are trying to train surgeons after all!!
I'm not sure that there's been a softening of the approach to the ABSITE. I made a very similar "ABSITE-->boards" comment to my residents this year. Residents still take the test seriously, and there are still consequences for low scores.
There's several studies that show residents who score below the 30-35th percentile are at increased risk of failing the QE. That's why I think it's a good idea to unify the test again, as basic science doesn't prepare you for the QE.
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I don't see anything in this thread that justifies the implication above. Perhaps you can elaborate on how you think returning to one exam makes things easier?
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Yeah I am confused as well about where that statement came from.
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I think if anything it would make it harder from both ends (ie I didn't pay all that much attention to HC03- secretion levels in various glands on the senior test and I certainly didn't freak out about what lesions justified a hepatectomy as a junior)
I thought the senior exam was ok. Definately had a different feel to it than previous years. I think the Exam should mimic the qualifying exam and serve as a preparation assessment tool. I have heard that it is for sure going to 1 test next year as well.
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First time taking the senior test. Thought it was better than the junior test last year. For a while, I felt like I was taking my critical care boards though...
I still question how they decide to pick the relatively infrequently used drugs for their mechanism/side effects questions.
I still question how they decide to pick the relatively infrequently used drugs for their mechanism/side effects questions.
