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Updated: Jun 24, 2026
A Training and Testing System for Performing Vascular Reconstruction In Vitro
Published on: October 26, 2019
Development of a comprehensive vascular skills assessment for surgical trainees
Ravindar S Sidhu1, Jerry Chen, Keith Baxter
1Division of Vascular Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. rssidhu@providencehealth.bc.ca
Background:
Although vascular skills are important to general surgeons, vascular surgery has become a separate specialty, and therefore, there may be an erosion of vascular skills acquired by general surgical trainees. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid comprehensive vascular skills assessment (CVSA) of both knowledge and technical skills.
Methods:
Twenty-four of 38 general surgical residents at the University of British Columbia completed a two-part CVSA consisting of a written examination and a series of 4 technical stations in a skills laboratory. Technical performance was rated using validated scales.
Results:
The mean overall CVSA score was 50%. The CVSA demonstrated construct validity, with improvement in scores with increasing postgraduate year level (P = .01). The overall reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was .90.
Conclusions:
The CVSA developed in this study is a comprehensive assessment of vascular skills that is both valid and reliable. It offers an objective and feasible assessment of general surgical trainees' vascular skills.
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