Entrustment in plastic surgery residents' informed consent taking for elective surgical procedures: A modified Delphi...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Plastic Surgery Training
• Surgical Competencies

Background:

• Informed consent is crucial for patient autonomy and ethical surgical practice.
• Standardized competencies for informed consent in plastic surgery are needed for resident training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To define entrustable professional activities (EPAs) for postgraduate plastic surgery residents regarding informed consent.
• To determine appropriate assessment strategies for these competencies.

Main Methods:

• A Modified Delphi study involving consultant plastic surgeons in Pakistan and abroad.
• Two iterative rounds of expert consensus using a 5-point Likert scale and online distribution.
• Data analysis using SPSS 21.

Main Results:

• 55 competencies under 8 EPAs were finalized, achieving consensus.
• 84.5% of initially identified competencies reached consensus in the first round.
• 67.7% of competencies requiring further discussion achieved consensus in the second round.

Conclusions:

• The identified EPAs offer a comprehensive, competence-based framework for informed consent assessment in plastic surgery.
• This framework supports standardized training and evaluation of residents' informed consent skills.