Boston University Medical Campus
Surgery

The clinical performance of categorical and preliminary residents in the Boston University Medical Center Surgical Residency Program is assessed using the following performance assessment measures: 

• Clinical Assessment: At the conclusion of each rotation, a global assessment of each resident’s clinical and technical skills incorporating the 6 core competencies of health care organizations is completed by each faculty member and placed in the resident’s file.
• Multiple Choice Examinations: Weekly multiple-choice examinations are given to the residents. These examinations are based on the weekly American College of Surgeons Core Curriculum conferences, which are held on Wednesday mornings. Each resident is signed up for membership in the ACS curriculum. Membership includes e-mails of the weekly conference articles.
• ABSITE: The ABSITE (American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination) is given to junior and senior residents every January. The junior resident (R1-R2) examination incorporates basic science and clinical surgery. The examination for the senior residents (R3-R5) tests the resident’s fund of clinical knowledge. This examination is given to all residents in accredited surgical training programs throughout the United States. Categorical residents are expected to perform above the 25^th percentile on this examination. ABSITE results are used in evaluating the resident’s clinical performance and are used by the Resident Advisory Committee when considering the resident for promotion. 
  
• Mock Oral Examination: A yearly mock oral examination is given to all R3-R5 categorical general surgery residents. This examination helps prepare residents for the certifying examination of the American Board of Surgery. 
  
• Semi-Annual Evaluation: All surgical residents meet with the Program Director and Chairman of the Division of Surgery every six months to review all performance assessment measures.
• Final Evaluation: A final evaluation of each categorical graduate is placed in their respective files. The final evaluation states that the graduate can function independently as a surgeon. 

 All performance measures as well as the results from the semi-annual meetings are reviewed by the Resident Advisory Committee, which meets every 2 months. The Committee consists of core faculty members from all integrated and affiliated institutions as well as an R5 representative from the residents. The above performance measures are used as guides to evaluate a resident’s performance and to identify problem areas that can be improved upon. In addition, residents are asked to submit evaluations of key faculty members and evaluations of rotations. These evaluations are collected via New Innovations, a web-based residency management system. In this way, total anonymity is maintained.