title: Development of a comprehensive vascular skills assessment for surgical trainees.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although vascular skills are important to general surgeons, vascular surgery has become a separate specialty, and therefore, there may be an erosion of vascular skills acquired by general surgical trainees. The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable and valid comprehensive vascular skills assessment (CVSA) of both knowledge and technical skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-four of 38 general surgical residents at the University of British Columbia completed a two-part CVSA consisting of a written examination and a series of 4 technical stations in a skills laboratory. Technical performance was rated using validated scales.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean overall CVSA score was 50%. The CVSA demonstrated construct validity, with improvement in scores with increasing postgraduate year level (P = .01). The overall reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was .90.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The CVSA developed in this study is a comprehensive assessment of vascular skills that is both valid and reliable. It offers an objective and feasible assessment of general surgical trainees' vascular skills.
authors.affiliation: Division of Vascular Surgery, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. rssidhu@providencehealth.bc.ca
authors.forename: Ravindar S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Sidhu
authors.forename: Jerry
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Keith
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baxter
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D004521:Educational Measurement; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D014656:Vascular Surgical Procedures / Q000193:education*