Assessing resident surgical competency in urology using a global rating scale

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Competency Assessment

Background:

• Ensuring surgical resident competency for independent practice is crucial.
• A standardized methodology for assessing surgical competency is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of using a single global question to assess surgical resident competency.
• To compare attending physician and resident self-assessments of surgical competency.

Main Methods:

• Attending physicians and residents in a urology program responded to a single global question assessing independent surgical competency.
• Data were collected from 12 residents and 10 attending physicians.

Main Results:

• Significant variation exists in competency assessments by attending physicians and residents.
• Attending physicians generally rated residents lower than residents rated themselves.
• Discrepancies decreased with increased resident experience and competency.

Conclusions:

• A standardized global question is a feasible, though complex, method for assessing surgical resident competency.
• Discrepancies between attending and resident assessments highlight the need for objective evaluation.
• Attending physician assessments are recommended as the primary measure for program directors.