A Competitive Objective Structured Clinical Examination Event to Generate an Objective Assessment of Anesthesiology...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Anesthesiology Training
• Clinical Skills Assessment

Background:

• Residency programs require robust assessment of resident competency in diverse skills.
• Objective evaluation methods are crucial for documenting skill progression during training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate an innovative, competition-based objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) for assessing anesthesiology resident skills.
• To determine if the OSCE event provides standardization to document progression in technical and nontechnical skills between postgraduate year 1 (PGY1) and postgraduate year 2 (PGY2).

Main Methods:

• An identical, competition-based OSCE event was conducted for PGY1 and PGY2 anesthesiology residents over two years.
• Twenty-one residents participated in both PGY1 and PGY2 events, allowing for direct performance comparison.
• Assessments included four workstations: preoperative assessment, OR setup, procedures (IV/intubation), and postanesthesia care unit transfer, evaluated by faculty using checklists, timing, and Likert scales.

Main Results:

• PGY2 residents demonstrated improved technical skills in operating room setup and procedures (IV/endotracheal tube placement) compared to their PGY1 performance.
• Enhanced information management was observed in PGY2 residents during preoperative assessment and postanesthesia care unit transfer.
• Significant skill improvement was documented at both the group and individual levels between PGY1 and PGY2.

Conclusions:

• The competition-based OSCE is a valuable tool for the objective assessment of multiple anesthesiology skills.
• The event effectively documents skill progression and identifies milestones during residency training.
• This method offers standardization for assessing technical and nontechnical competencies in anesthesiology residents.