Development and face and content validity of an eye surgical skills assessment test for ophthalmology residents.

Full Abstract

PURPOSE:
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has called for the development of new tools for teaching and assessment in core residency competencies. Aims of this study were to respond to this mandate by developing an objective method of evaluating the surgical skills of ophthalmology residents in a microsurgery laboratory environment that could become a part of the ophthalmic surgical curriculum and competency determination, and to evaluate the face and content validity of this assessment by surveying experts in the field.

DESIGN:
Survey.

PARTICIPANTS:
Twenty-two content experts (residency program directors and faculty members involved with resident surgical training).

METHODS:
We have developed a 3-station (skin suturing, muscle recession, phacoemulsification/wound construction and suturing technique) wet laboratory surgical skills obstacle course for ophthalmology residents. Each station includes instructions to the resident for completing the task as well as assessment forms, a station-specific checklist, and a global rating scale of performance, for expert surgeons to complete while reviewing the resident's videotaped performance. To establish face and content validity, content experts were sent a detailed explanation of the assessment along with a survey to facilitate constructive feedback.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Survey responses.

RESULTS:
Experts felt that the Eye Surgical Skills Assessment Test (ESSAT) is a useful and representative tool for assessing surgical skills of residents. Suggestions were incorporated, thus establishing the face and content validity.

CONCLUSIONS:
The ESSAT has face and content validity. This tool will be useful for assessing residents' surgical skills in a laboratory environment and the impact of various teaching methods on performance. Further studies to establish the interrater reliability and construct validity of the ESSAT are underway.

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Author information

Author/s: Fisher, Jennifer B (JB); Binenbaum, Gil (G); Tapino, Paul (P); Volpe, Nicholas J (NJ);

Affiliation: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Scheie Eye Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104, USA.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Multicenter Study; Validation Studies

Journal: Ophthalmology (Ophthalmology), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Dec; vol 113 (issue 12) : pp 2364-70

Dates: Created 2006/12/12; Completed 2006/12/21; Revised 2007/08/13;

PMID: 17056118, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Ophthalmology. 2007 Aug;114(8):1587-8. (PMID: 17678698)

CommentIn: Ophthalmology. 2007 Aug;114(8):1588; author reply 1588-9. (PMID: 17678701)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Animals
Biopsy
Clinical Competence - standards
Curriculum
Education, Medical, Graduate - standards
Educational Measurement - standards
Health Surveys
Humans

Internship and Residency - standards
Microsurgery - education
Oculomotor Muscles - surgery
Ophthalmologic Surgical Procedures - education
Ophthalmology - education
Phacoemulsification
Swine
Temporal Arteries - pathology

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