Skills and competencies that a new ENT specialty trainee year 3 should possess: a live Delphi study

The aim of this study was to develop a novel live Delphi method to obtain a consensus on the skills and competencies that a new ENT registrar (specialty trainee level 3) should possess. Developing a clear outcome set for core surgical trainees is important so that this phase of training can be directed at specific aims.

Attendees at the North of England meeting participated in this Delphi exercise. Participants comprised a range of ENT professionals from medical student to consultant surgeons. The main outcome measure of consensus was defined prior to the study as the median response value: strongly agree or more for positive consensus and strongly disagree or less for negative consensus.

This study identified multiple areas that reached consensus relating to elective and operative skills and demonstrated agreement in areas relating to ENT specific and allied specialty experience.

This study has highlighted a novel method for shaping surgical curricula.