Evaluating the competency of gynecology residents in the operating room: validation of a new assessment tool.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a brief, reliable rating scale to measure resident surgical competency. For 12 months, the gynecology faculty at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center completed a prototype global rating scale after each surgery. Concurrently, each resident completed the same assessment form as a self-evaluation. Factor analysis, Cronbach's alpha, Pearson correlations, and one-way analysis of variance were used to evaluate internal consistency and validity. Using factor analysis, the assessment form was modified to create the Hopkins Assessment of Surgical Competency (HASC). This contained 2 scales, General Surgical Skills and Case Specific Surgical Skills. The Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.86 to 0.89. The item-scale Pearson correlations ranged from 0.74 to 0.87. Senior residents scored significantly higher than junior residents and last rotation scores were significantly higher than the first. The HASC is a concise, valid, and reliable tool for assessing surgical competency in the clinical setting.