How to Prepare for the ABSITE in 2020
Nowadays, we have electric vehicles on the road. We watch as drones deliver our favorite Amazon packages...or even kidneys for transplantation! Information moves so quickly that we're disappointed when WiFi takes more than 10 seconds...to load a document that it used to take us two weeks to get in the mail! It's 2019, everyone. Time to bring alllll our amazing tools to bear and crush routine tests like the ABSITE. And here's how...
Review the evidence on ABSITE performance
Like so many things nowadays, we have some science about how to perform better on the ABSITE. Yep, it's out there: known factors impact how staff perform on the yearly exam. And we know what they are!
In a recent ABSITE review book, called ABSITE Smackdown!, I share the specifics on key factors that improve ABSITE scores. Take a look in the book or head on over to Pubmed to complete a quick search.
...let's use some SCIENCE on this test in 2020!
Take a practice test
Yes, you can find practice exams and you should. (Like as in now.) If you haven't taken the exam before, or if you're not sure where your gaps are in terms of knowledge, get yourself a practice exam and take it before you decide how and what to study for the exam.
Where? Well, for example, TrueLearn.com has an ABSITE specific practice exam...
Get some review books
There are definitely many more options for review books than I had as a surgical resident. Classics like Fiser still exist. But I felt like modern review books could do better than most of the work that had been around.
How? Why not include all of that classic review book content AND an accessible video review course all in one? Why not make the course follow the review book?
Wouldn't it be easier to be able to review an entire course on a smartphone any time and anywhere? That's why the ABSITE Smackdown! review book (available on Amazon.com) was born.
Hey, clearly I'm partial, but I'll tell you: ABSITE Smackdown! is the type of review I would've wanted as a resident. So that's why I'm proud to have helped create it.
Find easy to review, daily content
One great option here is @daily.absite.fact on Instagram. Each day, one useful, standard, review-book fact pops up in your feed. Everyone knows we catch some Insta every day anyhow--mine as well make it useful!
Purchase a review course
Most ABSITE review courses are expensive. As in very expensive. Who has $500-$1000 hanging around for a course? I definitely did NOT as a resident. Not to mention the plane ticket, the review books, getting call covered to get there...what a mess!
ABSITE Smackdown solves those problems. It helps educate resident colleagues for the exam in the easiest, most convenient way possible. The course, included with every copy of the ABSITE Smackdown! review book that's sold, tries to be more than just convenient. It attempts to be comprehensive, one-stop shopping.
Most importantly, the team at the Smackdown is constantly improving the work. On a month to month basis, ABSITE Smackdown! gets better and better to help everyone prepare.
Hey, look: it's 2020. We now have amazing options to get things done in ways that just didn't exist before. Don't have time to travel for an ABSITE review course? No problem! Want a great review book and course together for MUCH less than the price of most review courses alone? No problem! I hope that ABSITE Smackdown provides one useful, modern option to make prepping for the ABSITE easier and more effective than ever before! Let's get it together and get modern about how we approach the ABSITE in 2020.
Dr. David Kashmer is a quality improvement expert, & trauma and acute-care surgeon. He earned his Medical Doctor degree from MCP Hahnemann University--now Drexel University College of Medicine--and his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Villanova University through a joint BS-MD program with MCP Hahnemann. He has previously served as a Section chief, Chief of Surgery, & Chief Medical Officer for healthcare organizations.
He recently authored ABSITE Smackdown!, an ABSITE review book with video lecture course included. (Available here and on Amazon.)
David also earned a Lean Six Sigma master black belt certificate at Villanova. Dr. Kashmer holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Healthcare Administration from George Washington University. He previously served on the Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and now focuses on educating resident colleagues.