Y. N. AlJamal1, D. R. Farley1 1Mayo Clinic,Rochester, MN, USA
Introduction:
While surgical educators have a variety of options to evaluate trainees’ surgical skills, program directors have historically used operative case volume as the gold standard of operative competence1. Given better objective assessments of skills competency, we reviewed the current literature on the use of objective tools to assess general surgery trainees’ skills competency.
Methods:
A literature review (2000-2017) in PubMed using keywords (objective assessment, surgery, and competence) was conducted. The methodologies of the assessment tools are examined.
Results:
A total of 420 publications were identified. Only 39 papers focused on the objective assessment of surgical trainee performance in general surgery. Of these 39, 26 assessed open surgical skills, 11 looked at laparoscopic skills and 2 assessed both skills. Most open (57%) and laparoscopic (81%) skill assessments used objective structured assessment tools. Assessment using simulation options did occur: open skills = 65%, laparoscopic = 27%. Publications focusing on actual competency (12%) were less common.
Conclusion:
Publications involving objective assessments of general surgery trainee skills competency is varied: open skills assessment predominates with most occurring in a simulated setting; laparoscopic assessment is more prevalent in the operating room. Defining actual competency is uncommon and suggests further efforts are needed to better evaluate general surgery trainee performance.