Assessing the Correlation Between a Surgeon's Ability to Draw a Procedure and Ability to Perform the Procedure

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Skill Assessment
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Assessing surgical technical skill is crucial for patient safety in resident education.
• Senior plastic surgery educators use procedure diagrams to evaluate surgical proficiency.
• The presumption is that drawing ability correlates with surgical performance, irrespective of artistic skill.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the relationship between drawing a surgical procedure and performing it on a simulated model.
• To ascertain if the ability to draw a surgical procedure is dependent on general artistic ability.

Main Methods:

• Forty participants (medical students, residents, attendings) drew a 4-strand cruciate tendon repair and performed it on a validated simulation model.
• Participants were assessed by blinded hand surgeon examiners using Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) scales.
• Statistical analysis utilized Spearman's rank correlation coefficient.

Main Results:

• A strong positive correlation was observed between the assessment of drawing a procedure and the assessment of performing it (p=0.004).
• No significant association was found between the ability to draw the surgical procedure and general drawing ability or prior art training (p=0.28).

Conclusions:

• Drawing a specific surgical procedure can serve as a valid assessment tool for evaluating a surgeon's technical performance.
• This method supports objective evaluation of surgical skills in resident education without requiring artistic talent.