Surgical Trainers' Experience and Perspectives on Workplace-Based Assessments

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Assessment Methods

Background:

• Workplace-based assessments (WBAs) are crucial for formative feedback in surgical training.
• Existing literature indicates trainee dissatisfaction with WBAs, citing concerns about validity and reliability.
• No prior studies have explored the perspectives of assessors regarding WBAs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate surgical assessor perceptions and experiences with the 4 intercollegiate surgical curriculum programme WBAs.
• To identify which specific WBAs are considered most beneficial by trainers.

Main Methods:

• An 18-item electronic questionnaire with Likert scale questions was distributed to general surgery trainers.
• The survey targeted surgical program directors for dissemination within their deaneries.

Main Results:

• 64 responses were received from trained surgical assessors.
• Procedure-based assessments (PBAs) and case-based discussions were rated significantly more useful than mini-clinical evaluation exercises.
• Over 74% of WBAs were initiated by trainees, with only 10% having allocated sessions.

Conclusions:

• WBAs are perceived as valuable for surgical trainees.
• Assessors favor WBAs that evaluate complex practical skills (PBAs) and higher-order thinking (case-based discussions).
• The findings suggest a need to optimize WBA implementation, potentially through dedicated training time and improved trainee initiation protocols.