Psychomotor Testing for Orthopedic Residency Applicants: A Pilot Study.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Medical Education
• Surgical Skills Assessment

Background:

• Objective assessment of psychomotor skills is crucial for selecting orthopedic surgery residents.
• Current evaluation methods may not adequately capture the nuances of surgical dexterity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and pilot an objective motor skills testing system for orthopedic surgery residency candidates.
• To assess the feasibility and validity of a novel psychomotor test battery.

Main Methods:

• A battery of 5 motor skills tests, including 4 novel tests and the Grooved Pegboard (GPT) Test, was administered.
• A percentile-based scoring system was developed, and performance was compared across residents, volunteers, and applicants.
• Validity was assessed by comparing novel test scores and overall battery scores with GPT performance.

Main Results:

• Orthopedic residents significantly outperformed nonresidents (p < 0.0001).
• Applicants performed worse than residents and volunteers (p < 0.0001).
• Positive correlations were found between the GPT score and the overall battery score, screw and nut test, and mimic a structure test.

Conclusions:

• The piloted motor skills testing system is reproducible and potentially feasible for orthopedic surgery residency interviews.
• Psychomotor testing is an underdeveloped area for surgical applicant evaluation.
• Further longitudinal studies are needed to correlate test performance with future operative skills.