Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 11, 2025
Mixed Reality Assisted Radical Endoscopic Thyroidectomy
Published on: January 31, 2025
Assessment of operative competency for thyroidectomy: Comparison of resident self-assessment vs attending surgeon
Alexandrea H Kim1, Cory A Vaughn2, Deanne L King2
1College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA.
Background:
Self-awareness of skill, essential for progression as a surgeon, has direct bearing on postresidency practice; however, studies have supported that residents achieve self-perceived competence later than believed by program directors. This study compares residents' self-perception of operative competency to attending surgeon's evaluation using Computer Enhanced Visual Learning, a validated online hemithyroidectomy-specific assessment tool.
Methods:
Eleven otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (HNS) residents completed a preoperative module and postoperative survey, later reviewed by an attending surgeon. Eighty-three performances were assessed for inter-rater reliabilities of key surgical steps.
Results:
Almost perfect agreement (Kappa = 0.81-1.00) was shown in 11 of 18 parameters. Substantial agreement (Kappa = 0.61-0.80) was demonstrated in the remaining seven parameters.
Conclusions:
Otolaryngology-HNS trainees have high self-awareness of their performance at each step in a hemithyroidectomy. Standardized assessment tools can allow for documentation of procedural performance and serve as guides for improvement. This is the only study to examine otolaryngology-HNS trainees' self-perceived skill compared to an attending surgeon's assessment for hemithyroidectomy.
