• Aadil Ahmed, Stacey L Ishman, Kulsoom Laeeq, and Nasir I Bhatti.
• Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
• Laryngoscope. 2013 Jul 1; 123 (7): 1639-44.

Objectives/HypothesisTo determine the feasibility, reliability, and validity of an objective surgical assessment tool designed to measure the development of tonsillectomy skills by resident trainees in the operating room. A tonsillectomy evaluation instrument created previously serves as a basis for this tool, which incorporates many similar concepts but was optimized to maximize feasibility and reliability with simplified anchors and inclusion of global and task-specific sections.Study DesignProspective longitudinal validation study.MethodsFaculty input via modified Delphi technique was used to develop a new objective structured assessment of technical skills-based instrument for tonsillectomy. The task-specific checklist (TSC) and global rating scale (GRS) measured tonsillectomy technical skills and overall surgical performance, respectively. Twenty-one otolaryngology-head and neck residents (ranging from postgraduate year 1 to 6) were evaluated for a period of 3 years by 11 faculty members.ResultsEighty-three evaluations were completed showing strong correlation between both instruments (r = 0.95, P < .001). Our tool demonstrated construct validity for both TSC and GRS, showing higher scores with increasing surgical experience. Both instruments showed high interitem reliability with Cronbach α coefficients of 0.97 for both parts.ConclusionsThis assessment tool is a feasible, reliable, and valid instrument for the assessment of surgical competency in tonsillectomy. It is effective in providing structured feedback at the end of each procedure, which encourages specific, targeted development.Copyright © 2013 The American Laryngological, Rhinological and Otological Society, Inc.

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