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A surgical skills laboratory improves residents' knowledge and performance of episiotomy repair
Erika Banks1, Setul Pardanani, Mary King
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Women's Health Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA.
Objective:
This study was undertaken to assess whether a surgical skills laboratory improves residents' knowledge and performance of episiotomy repair.
Study Design:
Twenty-four first- and second-year residents were randomly assigned to either a surgical skills laboratory on episiotomy repair or traditional teaching alone. Pre- and posttests assessed basic knowledge. Blinded attending physicians assessed performance, evaluating residents on second-degree laceration/episiotomy repairs in the clinical setting with 3 validated tools: a task-specific checklist, global rating scale, and a pass-fail grade.
Results:
Postgraduate year 1 (PGY-1) residents participating in the laboratory scored significantly better on all 3 surgical assessment tools: the checklist, the global score, and the pass/fail analysis. All the residents who had the teaching laboratory demonstrated significant improvements on knowledge and the skills checklist. PGY-2 residents did not benefit as much as PGY-1 residents.
Conclusion:
A surgical skills laboratory improved residents' knowledge and performance in the clinical setting. Improvement was greatest for PGY-1 residents.
