Learning to Read: Successful Program-Based Remediation Using the Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) Curriculum.

Williams, Taylor P; Hancock, Kevin J; Klimberg, V Suzanne; Radhakrishnan, Ravi S; Tyler, Douglas S; Perez, Alexander

INTRODUCTION Surgical Council on Resident Education (SCORE) curriculum is aligned with the American Board of Surgery (ABS) objectives. Our program adopted the SCORE curriculum in 2015 following poor ABS In-Training Examination (ABSITE) performance and lowest quartile ABS Certifying Exam (CE) and Qualifying Exam (QE) first-time pass rates. We examined the association of SCORE utilization with ABSITE performance and ABS board exam first-time pass rate. METHODS At a single institution, a retrospective review of surgery residents' SCORE metrics and ABSITE percentile was conducted for academic year 2015 to 2019. Metrics analyzed on SCORE web portal were mean total minutes and total visits per resident for all residents using SCORE that year. First-time pass rates of the ABS QE and CE were examined from 2013 to 2019. Chi-square and linear regression analysis were performed, and a 95% level of confidence was assumed (alpha=.05). RESULTS Yearly data from categorical general surgery residents showed a significant increase in total minutes, total visits, and ABSITE percentile. Combined first time pass rates for the ABS QE and CE significant increased from 70.8% in 2013-2015 to 93.9% in 2016-2019 (p=0.018). CONCLUSION Increased longitudinal utilization of the SCORE curriculum was associated with programmatic improvements in ABSITE performance and ABS board exam first-time pass rate.