Remote FLS testing in the real world: ready for "prime time"

Area of Science:

• Surgical Education
• Medical Simulation
• Telemedicine

Background:

• Maintaining existing Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) test centers is resource-intensive.
• Limited international FLS test centers pose challenges for global certification.
• Preliminary research suggests remote scoring of FLS manual skills is feasible using videoconferencing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the integrity and reliability of remote FLS manual skills examination.
• To assess participant experience with remote proctoring.
• To evaluate remote administration against established FLS testing protocols.

Main Methods:

• Participants completed pre- and post-test questionnaires.
• The FLS skills test was administered remotely via Skype by a remote proctor (RP).
• An on-site proctor (OP) served as a control, with an invigilator present for integrity.

Main Results:

• No significant difference in scores between remote proctor (RP) and on-site proctor (OP).
• Excellent interrater reliability was observed between RP and OP.
• Participants reported high satisfaction with the remote testing experience.

Conclusions:

• Remote proctors can administer the FLS skills test securely and reliably.
• Remote proctoring demonstrates excellent interrater reliability compared to on-site proctoring.
• Remote FLS examination can increase certification rates and manage costs effectively.