Development and Validity Evidence of a Trauma Laparotomy Operative Assessment Tool

Formative assessment is an important component of surgical training and can be used as an educational tool for learning and improving performance. The trauma laparotomy procedure is an uncommon but essential procedure and it is imperative to maximize the educational impact of each exposure to this procedure. This study aims to develop a procedure-specific operative assessment tool for the trauma laparotomy procedure and conduct testing for validity evidence to support its use for formative assessment.

A modified Delphi methodology was used to develop items for a procedure-specific trauma laparotomy operative assessment tool. The tool was tested for validity evidence in both the simulation and clinical settings.

The Delphi study was conducted with an international panel of surgeons. The simulation and clinical testing of the tool was completed at 2 academic institutions.

General surgeons, trauma surgeons, and general surgery trainees were invited to participate in this study.

A 17-item tool was developed encompassing the technical and nontechnical aspects of the procedure. The tool has demonstrated strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.91 and 0.80) and correlation with OSATS global rating scores (Spearman correlation coefficient 0.87 and 0.79) in the simulation and clinical contexts respectively. Item factor analyses demonstrated strong item discrimination.

A structured procedure-specific trauma laparotomy operative assessment tool has been developed and tested. Supporting validity evidence has been reported and an argument presented for use of the tool in the context of formative assessment for learning.