Small Animal Surgery Resident University of Minnesota Veterinary Medical Center St Paul, Minnesota
There is currently no literature evaluating factors associated with veterinary surgery board exam pass rates (BEPR). The objective of this study was to identify small animal surgery (SAS) residency program factors associated with higher BEPR for candidates taking the American College of Veterinary Surgery (ACVS) board exams. The hypothesis was that ACVS SAS academic residency programs (AP) have higher BEPR than private practice programs (PP). An online survey was distributed to all ACVS SAS residency program directors. Respondents provided program information and Phase I and Phase II BEPR data from 2017-2021. The programs were grouped based on overall BEPR for both exams as “excellent” (>/=90%) versus “adequate” (<90%). Data was explored using recursive partitioning. Responses were reviewed from 36 programs (18 PP, 18 AP). AP comprised 64.7% of “excellent” BEPR. “Excellent” BEPR program variables included 47.1% offering a concurrent degree, 53.9% offering practice exams, and 70.7% reported that most faculty/supervisor surgeons (mentors) attend didactic rounds >75% of the time. Recursive partitioning revealed “excellent” programs had most mentors participating in rounds >75% of the time, and of those, a soft tissue case load of <7 surgeries/resident/week. If mentors were not participating >75% of the time, “excellent” BEPR were more likely in AP. ACVS AP may have higher BEPR. Limitations of this study include its exploratory nature, response bias, and inability to determine statistical significance. This study provides possible factors affecting BEPR that may be studied in future prospective studies including mentor involvement, caseload, and residency practice type.
