Feasibility, reliability and validity of a new assessment form for use with basic surgical trainees.
BACKGROUND
To establish feasibility, reliability and validity of a newly designed basic surgical training (BST) assessment form.


METHODS
The assessment form was evaluated among trainees on the South-east Scotland BST rotation over 18 months. Feasibility was indicated by response rate. Reliability was determined using test-retest analysis and internal consistency of each domain determined by Cronbach's alpha and item-total correlation. Construct validity was evaluated by determining improvement in performance after 1 year of training.


RESULTS
Response rate was high (889 of 984 forms [90%]), with similar representation from all disciplines. A highly significant positive correlation was found between test-retest scores for all domains (rho: I, 0.736; II, 0.875; III, 0.671; IV, 0.826; V, 0.859; P = 0.0001 all domains, Spearman's). Internal consistency was excellent for each domain, with Cronbach's alpha ranging from 0.82 to 0.95. Item-total correlation coefficients were greater than the required 0.4 for all but one task. In 101 assessments carried out after 1 year of training, significant improvement in scores was found for all domains except clinical skills (time 0 to time 1 year median [interquartile range]: I, 81 [26 to 100] to 100 [100 to 100], P = 0.008; II, 17 [-19 to 52] to 72 [36 to 100], P = 0.015; III, 85 [51 to 100] to 100 [87 to 100], P = 0.018; IV, 82 [44 to 100] to 92 [69 to 100], P = 0.211; V, 27 [-33 to 64] to 76 [32 to 100], P = 0.004).


CONCLUSIONS
The new assessment form is feasible, reliable and valid and would therefore be suitable for extended use with basic surgical trainees.
Paisley
A M
AM
University Department of Clinical and Surgical Sciences (Surgery), Royal Infirmary, Lauriston Place, EH3 9YW, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. anna.paisley@cableinet.co.uk
Baldwin
P
P
Paterson-Brown
S
S
D002983:Clinical Competence; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012606:Scotland