"Reflection-Before-Practice" Improves Self-Assessment and End-Performance in Laparoscopic Surgical Skills Training

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Skill Assessment

Background:

• Accurate self-assessment is crucial for surgical skill development.
• Traditional self-assessment methods may not fully align with expert evaluations.
• The integration of structured reflection is key to improving surgical competency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if a systematized self-assessment approach enhances the agreement between expert and self-evaluations in laparoscopic surgery.
• To investigate the impact of structured self-assessment training on surgical residents' performance and self-perception.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial was conducted with postgraduate surgical residents.
• A test group received systematic self-assessment training using a Competency Assessment Tool.
• A control group did not receive the additional self-assessment training.

Main Results:

• The test group demonstrated significantly better accordance between expert and self-assessments compared to the control group (p = 0.009).
• Residents who received systematic training reported over-evaluating their skills less frequently (7 vs. 14 cases).
• The test group exhibited higher overall mean performance scores (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Implementing a