Workplace-Based Assessment in Emergency Surgical Education Improves the Clinical Core Competency of Residents

While numerous studies exist on Workplace-Based Assessment (WPBA) methodologies, their application in surgical education remains underexplored. This study implemented WPBA within Emergency General Surgery (EGS) residency standardized training, with the aim to evaluate its efficacy in enhancing clinical core competencies.

For this prospective study, a multimodal assessment framework incorporating WPBA tools, namely, Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX), Directly Observed Practical Skills (DOPS), Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan (SOAP), an assessment recording, and Multisource Feedback (MSF); and competency evaluation metrics were employed. Comparative analysis of core competency scores and exit assessment performance was conducted between experimental and control groups. Data were analyzed using the chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test.

The First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, located in Shanghai, China.

Sixty three residents undergoing standardized EGS training from January to March, 2024, at the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, were recruited. These trainees were allocated into either experimental or control groups, using monthly randomization principles.

Baseline characteristics showed no statistically significant intergroup differences in gender, training grade, educational background, standardized training source, or standardized training base (p > 0.05). The experimental group demonstrated significant post-training improvements across all competency domains (p < 0.05), whereas the control group exhibited marginal improvement (p > 0.05). While theoretical knowledge and medical documentation scores were marginally higher in the experimental group (p > 0.05), clinical skills assessment scores showed statistically significant superiority (p < 0.05).

WPBA implementation effectively enhances clinical core competencies in EGS residents, and optimizes standardized training outcomes, suggesting its value as a pedagogical innovation in surgical education.¹.