Procedural skills in paediatric residency: Re-evaluating the competencies

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Pediatric Residency Training
• Procedural Skills Assessment

Background:

• The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) mandates specific procedural skills for pediatric residency.
• Some RCPSC-required skills are infrequently performed in clinical practice, raising questions about resident preparedness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess Canadian pediatric residents' perceptions of the importance and their proficiency in RCPSC-required procedural skills.
• To identify discrepancies between perceived importance and proficiency in these essential skills.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous electronic survey was administered to senior pediatric residents across Canada.
• A five-point Likert scale measured perceived importance and proficiency for various procedures.
• Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients were used for data analysis.

Main Results:

• 68 residents responded, rating 15 skills as highly important and 5 as not important.
• Residents reported high proficiency in 3 skills but low proficiency in 23 procedures.
• Proficiency was significantly lower than importance for 88% of procedures, with notable gaps in chest tube insertion and child maltreatment assessment.

Conclusions:

• While many RCPSC-required procedures are deemed important by residents, perceived proficiency is often inadequate.
• Significant gaps exist between the importance of certain procedures and residents' self-reported proficiency.
• Targeted curriculum adjustments focusing on high-importance, low-proficiency skills are recommended.