Factors Determining the Results of the Examination of the West African College of Surgeons in General Surgery

Abstract

Background: The general surgery results of the West African College of Surgeons (WACS) post-graduate fellowship examination could not be regarded as satisfactory when compared with the results of similar post-graduate examinations in some developed countries. For example the pass rate of the West African College of Surgeons examination was usually under 40% whereas the pass rate in oral examination in a similar post-graduate examination, the American Board of Surgery was 84% in 2006, 73% in 2012. The first time pass rate in general surgery of final year general surgery residents at the American Board of Surgery qualifying and certifying examinations were 74% - 78% between 2000 and 2007. Aim & Objectives: To identify the factors responsible for the high failure rate at the general surgery fellowship examinations of the West African College of Surgeons. Study design: Descriptive study .We studied and analyzed the West African College of Surgeons examination results for April 2012, October 2012, April 2013 and October 2013 with emphasis on the results, the conduct of the examination and the opinion from fellows about the examiners. Well structured questionnaires were sent to fellows who had passed all the various fellowship examinations of the West African College of Surgeons in general surgery to indicate their opinion about the examination, and the examiners. Setting: University College Hospital, Ibadan, and Jos University Teaching Hospital,Jos, Nigeria. Methodology: The first part of the study dealt with an analysis of each section of the examination prospectively studied over a 2-year period. This consisted of four sets of examination results. The second part was a questionnaire-based study administered to Fellows who had passed the WACS final fellowship examination in general surgery. The questionnaire had three sections: primary, part 1 and part 2 and included basic demographics, date at attempts in each grade of the examinations and the outcome. lt also included the views of the respondents on the conduct of the examination and outcome. The data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. Result: A total of 720 candidates with age range of 28 — 39 years and a mean of 33.2 years sat for the Part 1 Fellowship examinations in 2012 and 2013 with an average of 180 candidate per examination. At the Part 2 fellowship examination, 84 candidates with the age range of 31 — 42 year and a mean of 36.5 years sat the Part 2 Fellowship examination with an average of21 candidates for each Part 2 examination in general surgery during the same period. The examinations held in April and October of each year. While an average of 28.8% of the candidates passed, an average of 71.2% of the candidates failed the Part 1 Fellowship examinations in 2012 and 2013. The aggregate clinical score was responsible for failure in 59.5% of the candidates. ln the Part Z Fellowship examination in general surgery during the same period, 31.5% of the candidates passed while an average of 68.5% of the candidates failed per examination. The aggregate clinical score was responsible for53.3% ofthe candidates who failed the Part 2 examination. Furthermore, 60- 69.7% of the candidates had a favourable opinion about the conduct of the examination, 54.5 — 63.6% rated the professionalism of the examiners high, even though the pass rate at the first attempts of the various grades of the examination by the respondents was about 50 percent. Conclusion: The clinical part of the examination is a major factors responsible for the high failure rate in the general surgery fellowship examinations of the West African College of Surgeons. In order to mitigate this, residents in training should be exposed to the clinical management of a wide range of cases in the discipline with majority of the operations performed by them under the direct supervision of their consultants.