Ruben Avila, MD1, Achurra Pablo, MD1, Rodrigo Tejos, MD1, Rolando Rebolledo, PhD, MD1, Tamara Muñoz, MD1, Marcel Sanhueza, MD1, Juan Ramos, MD2, Nicolas Jarufe, MD1, Julian Varas, MD1. 1Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, 2Hospital Sotero del Rio, Santiago. Chile.
Introduction: The actual system to evaluate the acquisition of surgical skills is performed by an oral exam and tutor appreciations during different rotations in general surgery residency. This evaluation is subjective and has high variability between evaluators. There is no assurance that all graduated surgeons of a general surgery program have the minimal practical skills necessary for their clinical performance. The Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) is an assessment tool that would allow objectify in a standardized and reproducible way practical skills in general surgery residents.
Objectives: Validate an OSCE for evaluating practical skills in general surgery residency.
Methods and Materials: A six station OSCE was designed: Knots and Sutures (KS), Vascular Anastomosis (VA), Pulmonary Tractotomy (PT), Intestinal Anastomosis (IA), Cardiac Suture (CS) and Intracorporeal Laparoscopic Suture (LS). Two second year residents (PGY2), recently graduated surgeons (NS) and expert surgeons (ES) were invited to participate. Video recordings of all participants performing the OSCE were conducted. The videos were blindly evaluated using global [5-25] and specific [see table 1] validated scales (OSATS), operatory time and procedure approval. The statistical analysis was performed with nonparametric test for comparison between groups.
Results: A total of fourteen participants were recruited; 7PGY2, 4NS and 3ES. The approval rate for the groups PGY2 and NS in the different stations was: 71% KS, 0% VA, 0% PT, 57% IA, 0% CS, 57% LS and 100% KS, 25% VA, 0% PT, 100% IA, 25% CS, 100% LS, respectively. The ES group had 100% of approval in all stations. The average score in the general and specific OSATS in PGY2 was inferior to NS and ES in all stations. The average score in the general and specific OSATS in NS was similar to ES only in KS station. The average time spent in KS, IA and LS stations was inversely proportional to the participant’s level of expertise. Average time couldn’t be analyzed in stations where the majority of participants didn’t complete the procedure. Table 1 summarizes the average score of general and specific OSATS and time for each station.
Conclusion: Validating an OSCE allows the objective evaluation of practical skills in general surgery, complementing the actual educational/evaluation system.
Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.
Abstract ID: 80463
Program Number: P305
Presentation Session: Poster (Non CME)
Presentation Type: Poster