SESAP 19 + SESAP 19 Advanced (Questions with Answers + Flashcards) (PDF)

SESAP 19 PDF: Questions, Answers and Flashcards

Information

SESAP 19 + SESAP 19 Advanced (Questions with Answers + Flashcards) (PDF) provides a comprehensive general surgery self-assessment and review collection based on the Surgical Education and Self-Assessment Program (SESAP®) 19 and its advanced companion program from the American College of Surgeons (ACS).

Released in 2025, SESAP 19 and SESAP 19 Advanced were developed for practicing surgeons, surgical residents, and other clinicians seeking structured review of contemporary general surgery knowledge through clinically oriented, case-based questions.

SESAP 19 contains 640 newly constructed case-based multiple-choice questions across nine general surgery modules, with evidence-based critiques explaining why each answer option is correct or incorrect.

SESAP 19 Advanced builds on this foundation with more specialized and nuanced clinical problems. The Advanced program contains 310 standard case-based questions plus 19 Controversial Items, for 329 total learning items across six advanced modules.

This MedicalAmboss edition is provided as PDF Questions with Answers + Flashcards, allowing learners to review the educational material offline without requiring the original ACS web platform.

Product Details

• Title: SESAP 19 + SESAP 19 Advanced
• Full Name: Surgical Education and Self-Assessment Program 19
• Edition: 19th Edition
• Release Year: 2025
• Format: PDF
• Included: Questions with Answers + Flashcards
• Provider: American College of Surgeons (ACS)
• Specialty: General Surgery
• SESAP 19: 640 case-based multiple-choice questions
• SESAP 19 Advanced: 310 standard questions + 19 Controversial Items
• Total SESAP 19 Advanced Learning Items: 329
• Language: English

Target Audience

This surgical self-assessment collection is particularly relevant for:

• General Surgeons
• Surgical Residents
• General Surgery Board Candidates
• Practicing Surgeons
• Surgical Fellows
• Physicians preparing for surgical certification or recertification
• Surgeons seeking CME-oriented self-assessment
• Residents preparing for in-training or board-style examinations
• Clinicians reviewing current evidence in general surgery

Program Overview

SESAP has been developed by the American College of Surgeons Division of Education as a major self-study and self-assessment resource for surgical practice.

SESAP 19 and SESAP 19 Advanced were created through a multistep writing and peer-review process involving 57 practicing surgeon authors who are ACS Fellows, representing a range of surgical specialties, clinical environments, and geographic regions across the United States.

The original ACS online program combines the following features; interactive functions are not included in this PDF package:

• Case-based clinical questions
• Evidence-based answer explanations
• Current literature references
• Clinical images
• Radiographic studies
• Educational media
• Self-assessment
• Personalized review tools
• Flashcard creation
• Custom quizzes

SESAP 19

SESAP 19 contains 640 newly constructed, case-based multiple-choice questions covering the breadth of general surgery across nine modules.

Each question is accompanied by evidence-based critiques discussing the correct response as well as the reasoning behind incorrect answer options.

Supporting material includes references from current medical literature and links to resources such as PubMed abstracts in the original online program.

SESAP 19 Content Modules

1. Abdomen

The Abdomen module addresses benign and malignant disorders involving the abdominal wall and solid abdominal organs.

Major areas may include:

• Abdominal wall disorders
• Hernias
• Liver disease
• Splenic disorders
• Obesity
• Bariatric surgery
• Solid-organ pathology
• Transplant-related considerations

The official SESAP 19 program assigns 85 questions to this module.

2. Alimentary Tract

This module focuses on benign and malignant conditions of the gastrointestinal tract.

Topics may include:

• Esophagus
• Stomach
• Small intestine
• Colon
• Rectum
• Gastrointestinal malignancies
• Inflammatory conditions
• Obstruction
• Gastrointestinal emergencies

The module contains 85 questions in the official program.

3. Breast

The Breast module covers benign and malignant breast disease.

Important areas include:

• Breast imaging
• Diagnostic evaluation
• Benign breast disorders
• Breast cancer
• Genetics
• Surgical treatment
• Multidisciplinary management

The official module contains 50 questions.

4. Emergency General Surgery

This section addresses acute surgical conditions requiring urgent evaluation and treatment.

Topics may include:

• Acute abdomen
• Surgical infections
• Bowel obstruction
• Perforation
• Acute inflammatory disorders
• Emergency operative decision-making
• Sepsis
• Acute surgical complications

5. Endocrine

Endocrine surgery topics may include:

• Thyroid disease
• Thyroid malignancy
• Parathyroid disorders
• Adrenal disease
• Endocrine tumors
• Operative management
• Perioperative endocrine considerations

6. Legal, Ethics, Quality, and Safety

This module addresses nontechnical but essential aspects of contemporary surgical practice.

Topics may include:

• Medical ethics
• Informed consent
• Professional responsibility
• Patient safety
• Quality improvement
• Surgical complications
• Legal considerations
• Systems-based practice

7. Perioperative Care

Perioperative topics may include:

• Preoperative assessment
• Postoperative management
• Nutrition
• Fluid therapy
• Electrolyte abnormalities
• Infection prevention
• Venous thromboembolism
• Pain management
• Surgical complications

8. Surgical Critical Care

The official SESAP 19 Surgical Critical Care module contains 65 questions covering management of critically ill surgical patients.

Topics include:

• Shock
• Sepsis
• Burns
• Respiratory failure
• Hemodynamic instability
• Critical illness
• ICU management
• Organ dysfunction

9. Trauma

The Trauma module contains 75 questions in the official program.

It focuses on the urgent evaluation and treatment of injured patients, including:

• Initial resuscitation
• Trauma diagnosis
• Blunt trauma
• Penetrating trauma
• Hemorrhage
• Thoracic injury
• Abdominal injury
• Multisystem trauma
• Emergency operative management

SESAP 19 Advanced

SESAP 19 Advanced is designed for surgeons seeking deeper review of specialized, difficult, evolving, or clinically ambiguous areas of surgical practice.

The Advanced program provides 310 standard case-based questions plus 19 Controversial Items, resulting in 329 total learning items across six modules.

Advanced questions emphasize more complex decision-making and nuanced clinical management than the standard SESAP 19 curriculum.

SESAP 19 Advanced Modules

1. Advanced Abdomen and Alimentary Tract

This combined advanced module focuses on challenging benign and malignant conditions involving:

• Abdominal wall
• Groin
• Solid abdominal organs
• Gastrointestinal tract
• Complex acute surgical conditions
• Chronic surgical disorders

The official Advanced Abdomen and Alimentary Tract module contains 75 questions.

2. Advanced Breast

This module examines challenging aspects of breast surgery, including complex diagnostic and management decisions.

Potential areas include:

• High-risk lesions
• Advanced breast malignancy
• Genetic risk
• Multidisciplinary treatment
• Surgical strategy
• Difficult clinical decision-making

3. Advanced Endocrine

Advanced endocrine surgery content focuses on complex or evolving clinical problems involving:

• Thyroid disease
• Parathyroid disease
• Adrenal disorders
• Endocrine malignancies
• Reoperative surgery
• Complex management decisions

4. Advanced Melanoma, Skin, and Sarcoma

This module addresses specialized surgical oncology topics including:

• Melanoma
• Cutaneous malignancy
• Soft tissue tumors
• Sarcoma
• Staging
• Surgical margins
• Lymph node management
• Multidisciplinary oncology care

5. Advanced Surgical Critical Care

This section builds on standard critical care content with more complex management problems involving critically ill surgical patients.

Topics may include:

• Severe shock
• Complex sepsis
• Multiorgan dysfunction
• Advanced respiratory support
• Hemodynamic management
• Difficult ICU decision-making

6. Advanced Trauma and Emergency General Surgery

This module integrates complex trauma care with advanced emergency surgical problems.

Content may include:

• Complex resuscitation
• Damage-control surgery
• Severe blunt trauma
• Penetrating trauma
• Emergency abdominal surgery
• Hemorrhage control
• Surgical sepsis
• High-risk emergency decision-making

Controversial Items

A distinctive feature of SESAP 19 Advanced is the inclusion of 19 Controversial Items.

Unlike conventional multiple-choice questions with one clearly correct answer, these cases examine situations where more than one clinical strategy may be reasonable.

The accompanying discussion examines:

• Different management approaches
• Advantages and disadvantages of each option
• Current available evidence
• Areas where evidence remains uncertain
• Variability in accepted surgical practice

ACS describes these items as complex cases in which different approaches may be valid, with critiques discussing the evidence supporting each strategy.

Evidence-Based Answer Explanations

A central strength of SESAP is its extensive critique system.

Questions include explanations designed to address:

• Why the correct answer is appropriate
• Why alternative answers are incorrect
• Current evidence
• Clinical decision-making
• Surgical management principles
• Relevant controversies
• Important changes in surgical practice

This structure allows each question to function as both an assessment and a focused review topic.

Supporting References

The official SESAP platform provides extensive supporting references from current medical literature.

Original online content includes:

• Current journal references
• Links to PubMed abstracts
• Evidence supporting recommendations
• Relevant practice guidelines
• References supporting answer critiques

These references help connect question-based review with contemporary evidence-based surgical practice.

Clinical Images and Educational Media

The original program incorporates educational media such as:

• Radiographic images
• Clinical photographs
• Surgical images
• Videos
• Diagnostic studies
• Other visual educational resources

These materials support interpretation of imaging and clinical findings encountered in surgical practice.

Flashcards

Flashcards support active recall and rapid review of important surgical concepts.

They can help reinforce:

• Key diagnostic findings
• Surgical indications
• Treatment algorithms
• Important complications
• Management principles
• High-yield surgical facts

This MedicalAmboss package includes Flashcards in the supplied offline collection.

Personalized Learning in the Original SESAP Platform

The original ACS SESAP platform provides interactive learning features including:

• Custom quizzes
• Search functionality
• Bookmarking
• Highlighting
• Flashcard creation
• Immediate feedback
• Personal performance summaries
• SESAP Small Bites
• Question delivery at selected intervals
• Peer response comparisons

These features are designed to help surgeons personalize their educational experience.

SESAP 19 Mobile App

ACS also provides an official SESAP 19 mobile application for subscribers.

The app allows authorized users to access SESAP 19 and SESAP 19 Advanced from supported smartphones and tablets and provides access to many features available through the web platform.

Important: Access to the official ACS mobile application requires an appropriate ACS SESAP subscription and is not automatically included with this MedicalAmboss PDF package.

CME and Self-Assessment

The official ACS SESAP program offers opportunities to earn continuing medical education credits.

The ACS currently designates:

• SESAP 19: up to 160 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
• SESAP 19 Advanced: up to 104 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™

Official CME credit requires completion through the authorized ACS platform and compliance with ACS participation requirements.

CME credit is therefore not provided merely by purchasing or reviewing the offline PDF files in this MedicalAmboss product.

Why SESAP 19 Is Relevant for Surgical Review

SESAP combines question-based learning with current surgical evidence, allowing surgeons to identify knowledge gaps while reviewing clinically relevant topics.

The standard program provides broad general surgery coverage, while SESAP 19 Advanced extends learning into more specialized, difficult, and evolving areas.

Together they support review of:

• Core general surgery
• Clinical decision-making
• Surgical diagnosis
• Operative and nonoperative management
• Perioperative care
• Trauma
• Critical care
• Surgical oncology
• Emergency surgery
• Evidence-based surgical practice

Format Included

Questions with Answers + Flashcards (PDF)

This MedicalAmboss product contains an offline educational collection based on SESAP 19 and SESAP 19 Advanced content.

Included Format

• PDF Questions
• Answers and explanations
• Flashcards
• SESAP 19 content
• SESAP 19 Advanced content
• General Surgery self-assessment material
• English language
• Offline review format

The product should not be confused with an active American College of Surgeons SESAP subscription.

ACS account access, official mobile-app access, online custom quizzes, Small Bites delivery, live performance tracking, peer comparison, interactive search, CME claiming, and other server-based ACS functions are not included unless specifically stated otherwise.