Self-Administered Skills Assessment Using Simulation Modules for Procedural Competency: SELF Series Article 4

The shortage of practitioners trained to provide essential surgical care remains among the most stubborn contributors to the global burden of disease, particularly in resource-constrained settings where expert trainers are scarce. The Surgical Education Learners Forum (SELF) is a global community of practitioners working to develop cost-effective, scalable, open-access training modules that let clinicians anywhere learn, practice, and evaluate procedural skills independently. The key difference between a SELF training module and traditional procedural skills training is an integrated self-administered skills assessment (SASA) framework. Through SASA, the learner receives formative feedback from a physical simulator while practicing the physical and psychomotor skills it is designed to teach. SASA helps learners confidently transfer their new skills directly into clinical practice. This is the fourth article in the SELF series.

Participants in the 2023 SELF Symposium "Self-Administered Skills Assessment" working session were tasked with creating expert recommendation guidelines for developers creating SASA for training modules. The group engaged with idea generation in two key areas: understanding the learner journey and creating developer-recommended best practices followed by agreement on next steps.

The primary recommendation for developers was to create a sustainable platform with straightforward delivery. The session also called for developing and supporting a global SELF community of practice to meet the needs of learners and developers.

The further development and testing of SASA is integral to the success of the SELF community moving forward. The community must prioritize increasing the depth and breadth of research studies on SASA approaches and techniques in SELF training modules.