Scientist I University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison, United States
Introduction: Detailed objective assessment and feedback are of utmost importance for microvascular bypass skills training. An ideal assessment tool should be objective, reliable, well-defined, and easy to use. The objective of the study is to establish an objective and reliable training-specific self-assessment tool for trainees of different skill levels.
Methods: The Baskaya microvascular bypass training curriculum was completed by eight trainees using stereo microscopes. Each trainee scored each of their 31 microvascular bypass end-products twice using the new Madison Objective Self-Assessment Tool. The trainees' end products were then scored independently by one expert. The scoring was then compared using intraclass correlation coefficients to assess the inter-rater and intra-rater reliability of the self-assessment tool.
Results: The results showed that the inter-rater and intra-rater agreement ranged from excellent (ICC > 0.90) to acceptable (ICC = 0.61–0.80) for all but two exercises. Two inter-rater ICC showed no significance, 0.32 [-0.10-0.63], for 2 mm Silicone Tube End-to-end Anastomosis and moderate agreement 0.52 [0.16-0.76], for Chicken Vessels Side-to-side Anastomosis with 10-0 respectively. This demonstrated that the Madison Objective Self-Assessment Tool (MOST) is reliable. The MOST was easy to apply and required only a few minutes per microsurgical exercise according to the participants.
Conclusion : The MOST is an objective, reliable, and easy-to-use self-assessment test which can be easily utilized by different levels of trainee.
