Validation of a clinical assessment tool for spinal anaesthesia

Background: There is a need for a procedure‐specific means of assessment of clinical performance in anaesthesia. The aim of this study was to devise a tool for assessing the performance of spinal anaesthesia, which has both content and construct validity. Methods: The clinical assessment tool was generated using a focus group discussion of practicing anaesthetists. The tool comprised three components: a checklist of 11 pre‐defined errors, two time intervals and a six‐item global rating scale (GRS). Thirty‐one anaesthetists at three different levels of experience underwent testing using the clinical assessment tool: novice ( n =10), intermediate ( n =10) and expert ( n =11). Results: The error checklist and GRS scores but not the time intervals were significantly different between the three groups ( P <0.005). Conclusion: The error checklist and GRS form the basis for a procedure‐specific assessment tool for spinal anaesthesia.