Evidence-based Surgical Competency Outcomes from the Clinical Readiness Program.

Area of Science:

• Surgical education and military medicine.
• Performance assessment and competency assurance.

Background:

• Expeditionary surgeons manage complex injuries beyond typical practice.
• Surgeon readiness is critical for military and civilian casualty care.
• Identifying and addressing performance gaps ensures operational readiness.

Purpose of the Study:

• Evaluate a competency framework for expeditionary surgeons.
• Verify psychometric properties of assessment tools.
• Identify knowledge and skill gaps.
• Analyze relationships between skills, knowledge, and practice volume.

Main Methods:

• Implemented evidence-based processes for competency identification and measurement.
• Rigorously assessed psychometric integrity of all assessment instruments.
• Measured expeditionary surgical knowledge and skills, identifying performance gaps.
• Compared assessment outcomes with routine surgical practice data.

Main Results:

• Confirmed the psychometric integrity of assessment instrumentation.
• Identified significant performance gaps in expeditionary surgeons' knowledge and skills.

Conclusions:

• A robust competency framework and validated assessments enable quantification of surgical expertise.
• Strategies to close identified performance gaps enhance surgical competency and clinical readiness.