The impact of an advanced certifying examination simulation program on the American Board of Surgery Certifying Examination passage rates

Background: The national pass rate for the American Board of Surgery Certifying Examination has decreased in the past 5 years. An individual's ability to pass might be as dependent on his or her handling of the psychology of the examination-the "examanship" -because it is about clinical knowledge and judgment. To assess this, we implemented the Advanced Certifying Examination Simulation (ACES) program. The ACES was created as a novel method to simulate the stress of the Certifying Examination and focuses on the examanship of the test.

Study design: We compared the outcomes of the ACES program with its predecessor, a conventional mock oral program, as measured by residents' first-time pass rates on the Certifying Examination. First-time Certifying Examination pass rates of 26 residents who went through the ACES program were compared with 30 residents who completed the conventional mock oral program.

Results: There was a significant increase in passage rates for residents taking part in the ACES program (100%) compared with residents taking part in the conventional mock oral group (83.3%). The groups were equivalent based on previously determined predictive factors of Certifying Examination success, such as in-training and licensing examination scores.

Conclusions: The ACES program provides feedback on the qualities of examanship: controlling anxiety, expressing a positive attitude, and maintaining a strong and confident voice. By providing a structured, simulated venue where residents can safely gain experience, we believe that ACES might lead to increased first-time passage rates on the American Board of Surgery Certifying Examination.