Objective assessment of mastoidectomy skills in the operating room.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the feasibility and validity of an objective assessment tool designed to measure the development of mastoidectomy skills by resident trainees in the operating room.


METHODS
Prospective longitudinal validation study.


METHODS
Tertiary referral center and residency training program.


METHODS
Otolaryngology residents.


METHODS
Technical performance as measured over time using Task-Based Checklist (TBC) and Global Rating Scale (GRS) developed for assessment of mastoidectomy skills.


RESULTS
: Seventy pairs of evaluations were completed on 15 residents, showing strong correlation between both instruments (r = 0.93; p < 0.0001). Our instrument demonstrated construct validity for both TBC and GRS, showing higher scores with increasing surgical experience in otology. Both instruments showed high interitem reliability with Cronbach alpha coefficients of 0.98 and 0.95 for TBC and GRS, respectively. Regression analysis showed that thinning posterior external auditory canal (p < 0.05) and opening antrum to deepen dissection at sinodural angle (p < 0.05) were the strongest predictors of overall surgical performance.


CONCLUSIONS
Our assessment tool is a feasible and valid method of evaluating acquisition of mastoidectomy skills in the operating room. It can be integrated into surgical teaching in the operating room and yields information for direct formative feedback.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Howard W
HW
Francis
Hamid
H
Masood
Kashif N
KN
Chaudhry
Kulsoom
K
Laeeq
John P
JP
Carey
Charles C
CC
Della Santina
Charles J
CJ
Limb
John K
JK
Niparko
Nasir I
NI
Bhatti
D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D004503:Education, Medical, Graduate / Q000592:standards*; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008416:Mastoid / Q000601:surgery*; D015588:Observer Variation; D009873:Operating Rooms; D013506:Otologic Surgical Procedures / Q000592:standards*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results