Observational Skill-based Clinical Assessment tool for Resuscitation (OSCAR): development and validation

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Skills Assessment
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Effective teamwork and non-technical skills are critical during resuscitation.
• There is a need for validated tools to assess these skills in high-stakes clinical scenarios.
• Current assessment methods may not adequately capture team dynamics in cardiac arrest situations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a psychometrically sound tool for assessing teamwork and non-technical skills during resuscitation.
• To create a feasible instrument for use in both simulated and real cardiac arrest events.
• To enhance the training and assessment of resuscitation team performance.

Main Methods:

• The Observational Skill-based Clinical Assessment tool for Resuscitation (OSCAR) was developed through a three-phase process.
• Literature review informed initial tool development, followed by face and content validity assessments.
• Reliability was evaluated using Cronbach's alpha for internal consistency and intraclass correlation for inter-rater reliability.

Main Results:

• OSCAR demonstrated high internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha values ranging from 0.736 to 0.965.
• Inter-rater reliability was good, with intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.652 to 0.911.
• The tool was found to be psychometrically robust and clinically relevant.

Conclusions:

• The Observational Skill-based Clinical Assessment tool for Resuscitation (OSCAR) is a validated instrument for assessing non-technical skills in resuscitation teams.
• OSCAR can be utilized in simulations and real cardiac arrest scenarios for assessment and training.
• Implementing OSCAR can lead to improved team performance, enhanced patient safety, and increased resuscitation success.