Comprehensive Observations of Resident Evolution: A Novel Method for Assessing Procedure-Based Residency Training

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Assessing surgical skills in operating rooms presents challenges.
• Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) documentation requirements are increasing.
• A need exists for efficient trainee competence assessment methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an electronic resource for plastic surgery training programs.
• To facilitate compliance with ACGME Next Accreditation System Milestones.
• To improve the assessment of resident operative performance.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of Comprehensive Observations of Resident Evolution (CORE), a web-based tool.
• CORE includes rapid electronic assessments, a data dashboard, and an electronic Milestones tracker (MileMarker).
• Assessments are completed after each surgery for plastic surgery residents.

Main Results:

• Nearly 1300 Operative Entrustability Assessments were completed by 24 residents.
• 38% of residents reported more immediate feedback on operative performance.
• The assessment demonstrated construct validity and identified resident-specific strengths/weaknesses, significantly reducing Clinical Competency Committee review times.

Conclusions:

• CORE effectively captures operative performance data by Current Procedural Terminology code.
• The tool enhances feedback, transparency, and trainee self-monitoring.
• CORE supports real-time progress tracking and tailored training while ensuring ACGME compliance.