OGME Corner

Susan Rall, M.Ed

General Surgery In-Service Examination

The next General Surgery In-Service Examination will be administered on Saturday, January 13, 2018. Five hundred and sixty-eight (568) osteopathic general surgery residents have been registered to take the exam.

All osteopathic general surgery residents (OGME-1R – OGME-5) training in AOA-approved general surgery residency training programs who have not received ACGME Initial Accreditation are required to complete the 2018 General Surgery In-Service Examination to comply with the AOA/ACOS Basic Standards for Residency Training in Surgery and the Surgical Specialties (Section VIII, C,8.4).

The purpose of the exam is to assist program directors in the evaluation of the resident’s level of knowledge relative to other residents’ knowledge at the same level of training, to identify a resident’s area of weakness, and to track a resident’s progress. There is no passing score for the exam, which is a diagnosis-oriented, criterion-referenced achievement test that measures the degree to which residents have mastered the general surgery residency model curriculum. The results of the test are also used by the RESC as an indicator in evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of each residency program.

RESC

The next meeting of the Resident Evaluation and Standards Committee (RESC) will be February 2, 2018 in Alexandria, Virginia. The committee meets twice a year to review surgical residency programs and evaluate resident progress. Materials for review by the RESC and all requested documentation and fees should be received at ACOS by Monday, January 15, 2018.

Residents with incomplete annual reports and late fees from previous years have been contacted. It is imperative that residents submit Annual Reports in a timely manner to ensure the documentation is reviewed and results are communicated to the certification boards. Late submission of Annual Reports and requested documentation and fees may jeopardize the ability of a resident to sit for eligibility exams for certification.

The review of Annual Reports by the RESC is a benefit of ACOS membership. Non-members must pay a non-member review fee for the review of an Annual Report. New residents should contact their program director or program coordinator about ACOS membership or visit the ACOS website at www.facos.org for membership information and to ensure that their programs have submitted the necessary application forms for ACOS membership.