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The recent ARCHIVES article by de Virgilio et al¹ left me with a sense of dismay and déjà vu. The authors describe the improvement of resident scores on the American Board of Surgery In-Training Examination (ABSITE) by administering weekly tests to the surgery residents at Harbor–UCLA Medical Center (Torrance, Calif). It is a story I have witnessed many times as the father of 3 grown children and husband to a middle school teacher. The authors of this article have proved what all parents and teachers have known for generations: To pass the test you must study the material!

It is unfortunate, to say the least, that to motivate the house staff to acquire the fundamental knowledge of surgery, the program directors elected to treat the residents more like middle school children than responsible surgical professionals. Not only does this perpetuate the "teach for the examination" philosophy that pervades education at . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Scott E. Maizel, MD

Correspondence: Dr Maizel, Department of General Surgery, 9101 Franklin Square Dr, Suite 110, Baltimore, MD 21237.

RELATED ARTICLE

Teaching for the Examination: Is That the Desired Outcome?—Reply
Christian de Virgilio
Arch Surg. 2004;139(8):914.
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