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Validity Evidence for Procedure-specific Competence Assessment Tools in Orthopaedic Surgery: A Scoping Review.
Yibo Li1, Robert Chan, Matthew R G Menon
1From the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (Dr. Li, Dr. Chan, Dr. Menon, Dr. Ryan, Dr. Mador, and Dr. Turner); the Western Upper Limb Facility, Sturgeon Community Hospital, St. Albert, Alberta, Canada (Dr. Chan); and the John W. Scott Health Sciences Library, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (Ms. Campbell).
Current orthopaedic surgery assessment tools lack sufficient validity evidence for high-stakes evaluations. More evidence-based tools are needed across subspecialties to reliably assess resident competence.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Orthopaedic Surgery
- Surgical Skills Assessment
Background:
- Competency-based training necessitates frequent resident skill assessment.
- Existing literature on procedure-specific competence assessment tools in orthopaedic surgery is reviewed.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review and evaluate existing procedure-specific competence assessment tools in orthopaedic surgery.
- To assess the validity evidence and educational utility of these tools.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature search of eight databases up to May 2023.
- Independent assessment of validity evidence and educational utility by two reviewers.
- Evaluation of studies' methodological quality using an evidence-based framework.
Main Results:
- 22 studies examining 24 assessment tools were included.
- Validity evidence was generally low, particularly for consequences (lowest) and content (highest).
- Methodological quality was moderate; educational utility was rarely assessed.
Conclusions:
- Existing procedure-specific assessment tools in orthopaedic surgery lack sufficient validity for high-stakes summative assessments.
- There is a critical need for the development of more evidence-based tools across orthopaedic subspecialties.
- Robust methodology and validity evidence frameworks are essential for reliable surgical skills assessment.
