Using a Mobile Application for Evaluation of Procedural Learning in Neurosurgery.

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Surgical Training
• Neurosurgery

Background:

• Effective feedback is crucial for surgical skill development.
• Current neurosurgery residency assessments often suffer from bias due to aggregated, rather than case-specific, feedback.
• Immediate, case-specific feedback is needed to improve surgical training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the implementation and impact of the SIMPL (System for Improving and Measuring Procedural Learning) mobile application in a neurosurgery residency program.
• To assess the response of neurosurgery residents and faculty to the SIMPL application.
• To evaluate the utility of SIMPL for immediate surgical competency assessment and feedback.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective assessment of the SIMPL application's use within a neurosurgery residency program.
• Documented implementation of the mobile application and its output for residents and program directors.
• Analysis of evaluation completion and dictation rates over a 6-month period.

Main Results:

• Over 300 evaluations were completed in 6 months with a >80% response rate from residents and faculty.
• Faculty provided verbal feedback via dictation in 60% of evaluations, accessible to residents.
• This represents the first documentation of such an application in a neurosurgical residency.

Conclusions:

• The SIMPL application facilitates immediate surgical competency assessment and improves feedback quality.
• Its ease of use and telephone-based nature have the potential to enhance neurosurgical training nationwide.
• SIMPL offers a valuable tool for objective, case-specific feedback in surgical education.