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Validation of a clinical assessment tool for spinal anaesthesia
Author(s) -
BREEN D.,
BOGAR L.,
HEIGL P.,
RITTBERGER J.,
SHORTEN G. D.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
acta anaesthesiologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 107
eISSN - 1399-6576
pISSN - 0001-5172
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-6576.2011.02433.x
Subject(s) - medicine , checklist , spinal anesthesia , construct validity , anesthesia , rating scale , surgery , patient satisfaction , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , psychology
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.