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An alternative certification examination ("ACE") in surgery
Marie Catherine Morris1, Amy E Gillis2, Craig O Smoothey3
1Education Division, School of Medicine, Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Journal of Surgical Education
|July 17, 2014
Summary
The Alternative Certification Examination (ACE) effectively assesses all 8 professional domains for medical graduates. This standardized, integrative exam shows potential as a superior alternative to traditional assessments for surgical cases.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Professional Competency Assessment
- Surgical Training Evaluation
Background:
- Medical graduates require broad professional competencies.
- Current undergraduate exams assess only 5 of 8 essential skills.
- A gap exists in evaluating comprehensive professional domains.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the Alternative Certification Examination (ACE) for assessing all 8 professional domains.
- To determine the ACE's suitability for surgical case evaluation.
- To compare the ACE with traditional assessment methods.
Main Methods:
- 137 final-year medical students participated in the ACE.
- The ACE involved 4 sequential patient encounters with 2 independent examiners.
- Examiners and students provided feedback via Likert scale and free-text comments.
Main Results:
- The ACE successfully assessed all 8 professional domains.
- A patient safety measure in pass criteria led to 18.9% failure rate.
- Strong interrater reliability (Cronbach α = 0.907) was observed.
- Examiners found the ACE acceptable for formative and summative assessment.
Conclusions:
- The ACE is a standardized, integrative assessment with excellent interrater reliability.
- Incorporating patient safety criteria enhances assessment specificity.
- The ACE demonstrates potential as an alternative to long case and OSCE exams.
