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STANDARDISED TECHNICAL SKILLS ASSESSMENT FOR VASCULAR TRAINEES USING AN ARTIFICIAL MODEL
Author(s) -
Cole C. M.,
Jackson M.,
Boyne N.,
Campbell C.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-2197.2009.04935_4.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cohort , task (project management) , test (biology) , confidence interval , set (abstract data type) , post hoc , medical physics , physical therapy , computer science , paleontology , management , economics , biology , programming language
Purpose: To introduce a valid technical skills assessment of the current cohort of Vascular Surgical (SET) trainees and follow their progress with repeated assessment throughout surgical training. Methodology: At the 2008 RACS Vascular Surgery Trainees’ Course, 42 SET trainees performed a standardised technical task: suturing a graft to popliteal artery in a commercially available artificial apparatus using standard surgical instruments and sutures. Each trainee was paired with another trainee who acted as a “passive” assistant and an assessor. Tasks were directly observed by a mentor vascular surgeon. The trainee, the assistant and the mentor surgeon completed assessment forms (Imperial College Evaluation of Procedural Skill and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill) immediately after task completion. The anastomosis “finished product” was then analysed “post‐hoc” by two independent surgeons using an “End‐product Evaluation Scoring tool”. The scores were tabulated and a comparison between year of SET was performed. Results: The Mentor scores, according to SET level, were as follows (Mean: 5% to +95% confidence limits): SET1:39.4, 33.7 to 45; SET2:43.7, 38.2 to 49.2; SET3:51.8, 46.9 to 56.6; SET 4:53.0, 44.2 to 61.8; SET5:69, 61.5 to 76.5. Variation and trend between trainee groups was highly significant (Kruskal‐Wallis test: p = 0.005). Conclusion: The standardised apparatus and assessment tools demonstrated a good ability to discriminate between the technical skills of vascular surgical trainees of varying level. This is the first such assessment performed on an entire National cohort of vascular surgical trainees. These methods may prove to be a reliable assessment tool for SET trainees.