title: The assessment of surgical skills and a simple knot-tying exercise.
abstract: Basic surgical skills courses are mandatory for all surgical trainees taking the MRCS examination. An important aspect of these courses is the level of practical skill achieved by junior surgeons attending them. We present a simple knot-tying exercise, which may be used to assess the baseline skill level of trainees at the outset of the course and against which their progress can be judged after tuition and practice.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK.
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Tytherleigh
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Bhatti
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Wilkins
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D004739:England; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D015588:Observer Variation; D013536:Suture Techniques / Q000592:standards*