BACKGROUND Graduating general surgery residents are required to pass the FES exam for ABS certification. Trainees and surgery educators are interested in defining the most effective methods of exam preparation. Our aim is to define trainee perceptions, performance, and the most effective preparation methods regarding the FES exam. METHODS General surgery residents from a single institution who completed the FES exam were identified. All participated in a flexible endoscopy rotation, and all had access to an endoscopy simulator. Residents were surveyed regarding preparation methods and exam difficulty. Descriptive statistics and a Kruskal-Wallis test were used. RESULTS A total of 26 trainees took the FES exam with a first-time pass rate of 96.2%. Of 26 surveys administered, 21 were completed. Twenty trainees (76.9%) participated in a dedicated endoscopy curriculum. Scores were not different among those who received dedicated curricular instruction compared to those who did not (547 [IQR 539-562.5] vs. 516 [484.5-547], p = 0.1484; 535.5 [468.5-571] vs. 519 [464.75-575], p = 0.9514). Written exam difficulty was rated as 5.5 on a 10-point Likert scale, and 85.7% felt it was a fair assessment of endoscopy knowledge; skills exam difficulty was rated as 7, and 71% felt it was a fair assessment of endoscopy skills. Online FES modules, the endoscopy clinical rotation, and an exam preparation session with a faculty member were most effective for written exam preparation. The most effective skills exam preparation methods were independent simulator practice, the endoscopy clinical rotation, and a preparation session with a faculty member. The most difficult skills were loop reduction and retroflexion. Skill decay did not appear to be significant. CONCLUSIONS A clinical endoscopy rotation, a method for independent skills practice, and faculty-mediated exam instruction appear to be effective exam preparation methods. When these are present, trainees report minimal need for dedicated exam preparation time prior to taking the FES exam.

中文翻译：

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基本内窥镜技能考试的居民感知：单一机构的经验。

背景 即将毕业的普外科住院医师需要通过 FES 考试以获得 ABS 认证。实习生和外科教育工作者有兴趣确定最有效的考试准备方法。我们的目标是确定学员对 FES 考试的看法、表现和最有效的准备方法。方法 确定了完成 FES 考试的单一机构的普外科住院医师。所有人都参加了灵活的内窥镜检查轮换，并且都可以使用内窥镜模拟器。对居民进行了关于准备方法和考试难度的调查。使用了描述性统计和 Kruskal-Wallis 检验。结果 共有26名学员参加了FES考试，一次通过率为96.2%。在开展的 26 项调查中，完成了 21 项。20名学员（76. 9%) 参加了专门的内窥镜检查课程。接受专门课程指导的学生与未接受专门课程教学的学生的分数没有差异（547 [IQR 539-562.5] 对比 516 [484.5-547]，p = 0.1484；535.5 [468.5-571] 对比 519 [464.75- 575]，p = 0.9514）。笔试难度在 10 分李克特量表中被评为 5.5，85.7% 的人认为这是对内窥镜知识的公平评估；技能考试难度被评为 7，71% 的人认为这是对内窥镜技能的公平评估。在线 FES 模块、内窥镜临床轮换以及与教员的考试准备会议对于笔试准备最为有效。最有效的技能考试准备方法是独立的模拟器练习、内窥镜临床轮换以及与教员的准备会议。最困难的技能是循环减少和后屈。技能衰减似乎并不显着。结论 临床内窥镜检查轮换、独立技能练习方法和教师介导的考试指导似乎是有效的考试准备方法。当这些存在时，受训者报告在参加 FES 考试之前需要专门的考试准备时间的需求最少。