Assessing Operative Skill in the Competency-based Education Era: Lessons From the UK and Ireland

Decisions regarding the operative competence of surgical residents in the United Kingdom and Ireland are informed by operative workplace-based assessments (WBAs) and operative number targets for index procedures. This review seeks to outline the validity evidence of these assessment methods.

A review of the MEDLINE (Pubmed), EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases was undertaken in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute Protocol for Scoping Reviews (2020). Articles were included if they provided evidence of the validity of procedure-based assessments, direct observation of procedural skills, or indicative operative number targets. The educational impact of each article was evaluated using a modified Kirkpatrick model.

Twenty-eight articles outlining validity evidence of WBAs and operative number targets were synthesised by narrative review. Five studies documented users' views on current assessment methods (Kirkpatrick level 1). Two articles recorded changes in attitudes towards current operative assessments (level 2a). Ten studies documented the ability of current assessments to record improvements in operative competence (level 2b). Ten studies measured a change in behaviour as a result of the introduction of these assessments (level 3). One article studied the ability of operative assessments to predict clinical outcomes (level 4b).

Operative WBAs are reliable. Scores achieved correlate with both time spent in training and recorded operative experience. Trainers and residents have concerns regarding the subjectivity of these assessments and the opportunistic nature in which they are used. Operative number targets are not criterion-referenced, lack validity evidence, and may be set too low to ensure operative competence.