ANZ journal of surgery
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ANZ journal of surgery · Mar 2009
Workplace-based assessment: assessing technical skill throughout the continuum of surgical training.
The Royal Colleges of Surgeons and Surgical Specialty Associations in the UK have introduced competence-based syllabi and curricula for surgical training. The syllabi of the Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) and Orthopaedic Curriculum and Assessment Programme (OCAP) define the core competencies, that is, the observable and measureable behaviours required of a surgical trainee. The curricula define when, where and how these will be assessed. ⋯ PBA forms have been developed for all index procedures in all surgical specialties. The forms are intended to be used as frequently as possible when performing index procedures, as their primary aim is to aid learning. At the end of a training placement the aggregated PBA forms, together with the logbook, enable the Educational Supervisor and/or Programme Director to make a summary judgement about the competence of a trainee to perform index procedures to a given standard.
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ANZ journal of surgery · Mar 2009
Guide to the assessment of competence and performance in practising surgeons.
Surgical performance is increasingly under public scrutiny and non-technical behavioural issues are more frequently the focus of complaints. Currently, there is a lack of a suitable framework or template to assist surgeons in the assessment of their own performance or that of their colleagues. A Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Working Party considered the methods currently available to define and assess surgical performance. ⋯ Considerable progress has been made in the assessment of performance of practising surgeons. This guide has been published to address performance issues across all RACS competencies. It also outlines a variety of assessment methods and strategies to support surgeons.
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There are several challenges facing surgical education and training that simulation may help to address. A conceptual framework is required to allow the appropriate application of simulation to a given level and type of surgical skill and this should be driven by educational imperatives and not by technological innovation. ⋯ Virtual world simulation opens up significant opportunities for team skills training. A role for simulation in surgical education and training appears assured, but its success will be determined by the extent to which it is integral to high quality curricula, its importance determined by its contribution to both learning and assessment, and its sustainability determined by evidence of its advantages and cost-effectiveness.
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ANZ journal of surgery · Mar 2009
Ensuring a graduated integrated progression of learning in a changing environment.
Surgical training is under threat in the changing environment of today. In the past, training consisted of an apprenticeship, which is no longer feasible or practical within the time limitation imposed on trainees currently, and so a new and innovative approach is required to train the surgeons of tomorrow. There is therefore a need for an explicit curriculum that ensures a graduated and integrated progression of learning in which both trainees and trainers are aware of what is required for each stage in training and for each surgical specialty. Such a curriculum has now been developed in the UK.
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ANZ journal of surgery · Mar 2009
Evolution of the OSCA-OSCE-Clinical Examination of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
The Objective Structured Clinical Assessment (OSCA) was introduced by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 1990. Over the last 5 years important changes have been made to the format of the examination to improve the processes of the examination overall and its reliability and validity. Competency scores have been introduced to comprise 25% of the score for each station to allow an additional judgement by the examiner of clinical competence beyond the structure objective marking scale. ⋯ The database also allows information to be collected about the performance of stations and statistical analysis has shown the current clinical exam to have an overall reliability of approximately 0.7, which is a good level of reliability. Progressively stations with low correlation are being reduced and reproducibility across multiple centres is being assessed. In the 18 years since this examination was introduced multiple changes have refined the processes, reliability and validity of the examination.