CME Credit Hours: 3
Registration Required
Limit: 70 participants
There are multiple areas of examination in the realm of colon and rectal surgery that require written questions to assess knowledge. These include the qualifying written exam, the certifying oral exam, continuous certification questions, CARSITE, CARSEP and CREST. Despite looking straightforward, it is extremely difficult to write a good exam question. Many concepts are controversial and what is not controversial can become trivial. There are basic guidelines that help the writer, and this is a skill that can be learned and improve with practice. In recent years emphasis has been placed on how to write an acceptable exam question and guidelines have been published by organizations such as the National Board of Medical Examiners.
Objectives
At the end of this session, participants should be able to:
- Identify fundamental problems with construction of questions developed for testing purposes
- Explain the sequential thinking process used to write an acceptable question and understand how a key concept drives question development
- Demonstrate how to write a stem for a question utilizing the key concept as a foundation
- Develop a second order question that combines diagnosis and management and format the answers in an acceptable form
- Recognize the key differences between a written question and question sequence developed for oral examination formats, as well as questions for various other examination formats
Co-Directors
Glenn Ault, MD, MSEd, Los Angeles, CA
Rebecca Hoedema, MD, Grand Rapids, MI
Introduction
Glenn Ault, MD, MSEd, Los Angeles, CA
Rebecca Hoedema, MD, Grand Rapids, MI
Key Concept – The True Foundation of a Good Question
Jennifer Beaty, MD, Omaha, NE
The Stem – The Makings of a Good Question
Shane McNevin, MD, Spokane, WA
The Answers – They Can Ruin a Great Stem
Liana Tsikitis, MD, Portland, OR
Finalizing Questions – Rescue and Salvage
Glenn Ault, MD, MSEd, Los Angeles, CA
Critiques – Painful but Very Important
Rebecca Hoedema, MD, Grand Rapids, MI
The Art of Writing an Oral Examination Question
Scott Steele, MD, Cleveland, OH
Let’s Write Questions
All Faculty
Question Review
All Faculty
Adjourn