The 17th edition of the Surgical Education and Self-Assessment Program (SESAP®) debuted at Clinical Congress in 2019. Developed by the ACS Division of Education, SESAP 17 is a premier educational resource for practicing surgeons. This edition has been praised by surgeons for the same high-caliber, rigorously peer-reviewed content as past editions, while offering many new web-based features that allow surgeons to tailor their learning to address individual needs and preferences. SESAP 17 participants have praised the newest edition:
- “Overall SESAP 17 is significantly improved over SESAP 16. The flashcards are good, and the ability to save questions into your own categories is very helpful.”
- “I wanted to do ICU/critical care given the possibility of re-deployment to the ICU for COVID-19. My institution provided a refresher course, but I wanted to re-enforce it with SESAP.”
- “My favorite SESAP over the past 20 years. Well done.”
SESAP 17 consists of 650 newly constructed, multiple-choice, case-based questions. Each question is followed by a thorough critique addressing each answer option, citations from current literature, and related images. Subscribers may choose from packages containing all 13 categories: abdomen, alimentary tract, breast, endocrine, head and neck, legal/ethics, oncology, perioperative care, problems in related specialties, skin/soft tissue, surgical critical care, trauma, and vascular. If, however, not all categories are of interest, subscribers may choose from web packages with as few as three categories, and other categories may be added any time based on learning and practice needs. Print packages are available with all 13 categories. Participants can earn up to 109 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
To develop SESAP 17, nine committees with a total of 53 practicing surgeon authors spent two years writing, reviewing, and refining the items and critiques under the leadership of John A. Weigelt, MD, DVM, FACS, SESAP 17 Program Director. The authors represent a range of clinical and academic environments, general surgery and surgical specialties, and practices from every region of the U.S.
As a result of feedback from previous subscribers, an array of new features has been added to the SESAP 17 web program, allowing surgeons to use it for quick reference and lifelong learning. All subscribers are free to move among categories for self-directed learning and can easily track their progress on a convenient dashboard. Individuals can bookmark content and save personal notes to customized folders in My Library, highlight text on the screen, and easily access material through targeted search functionality. In addition, SESAP 17 offers the opportunity to compare individual answers and scores to peers who have completed the same material.
If a deeper level of educational content is desired, surgeons are encouraged to explore SESAP 17 Advanced, which offers five modules—abdomen and alimentary tract, breast, endocrine, surgical critical care, and trauma. SESAP 17 Advanced modules are solely online and have corresponding prerequisite categories in SESAP 17.
For additional information or assistance with selecting a package, please visit the virtual ACS Central on the virtual Clinical Congress 2020 meeting platform, SESAP 17, or SESAP 17 Advanced.