An analysis of the orthopaedic in-training examination sports section: The importance of reviewing the current orthopaedic subspecialty literature

The Orthopaedic In-Training Examination (OITE), produced by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, was first administered in 1963. It was the first surgical subspecialty examination of its kind to be administered to resident trainees. The inaugural OITE consisted of 150 questions derived from the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) examination1. The number of questions on the OITE and the number of examinees taking the test have increased substantially during subsequent test administrations. The most recent examination (2008) consisted of 275 questions that were administered to 4137 examinees. The current test is divided into twelve domains: sports medicine, foot and ankle, hand, hip and reconstruction, medically related issues, orthopaedic diseases, basic science and tumors, pediatric orthopaedics, rehabilitation, shoulder and elbow, spine, and musculoskeletal trauma. After the OITE examination, the score reports are returned to individual examinees, along with a list of preferred responses for each question and associated literature or textbook references. As a result, the OITE serves as an important educational tool identifying areas of weakness and future study for individual examinees. Recently, Frassica et al.2 and Marker et al.3 published analyses of the OITE pathology and hand sections. The information derived from these studies enables trainees to study more comprehensively, facilitating the development of a core orthopaedic knowledge base. Additionally, faculty may use this information to direct journal club topics and didactic lectures and to improve their educational curriculum. To our knowledge, no analysis of the sports medicine questions on the OITE has been published. The purpose of this study was to systematically examine the OITE sports medicine questions, along with the associated answers and recommended reading lists, during a five-year period. This analysis produced a list of commonly tested topics and provides an educational resource that residents and attending surgeons may use to …