title: Are residents accurate in their assessments of their own surgical skills?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An appropriate level of awareness of one's own technical skill is essential to being an effective self-directed learner. The aim of this study was to analyze surgical residents' self-awareness by examining their ability to predict and assess their own performance in an objective surgical skills examination.
  
  
  METHODS
  Surgical residents' (n = 216) pre-examination self-predicted scores and post-examination self-assessed scores were compared with objectively measured scores. Accuracy of score prediction and self-assessment were compared with resident demographics (age, gender, year of training, and nationality).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Post-examination self-assessed scores correlated with objectively assessed scores (r = .34; P < .001). Higher year of training, older age, and non-European nationality were predictive of accuracy in self-prediction and self-assessment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Demographic variables that predict more accurate self-awareness of technical skill have been identified. Surgical training programs may use these data to anticipate the trainees who need assistance in developing better self-awareness.
authors.affiliation: National Surgical Training Centre, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland. catherinedeblacam@rcsi.ie
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Blacam
authors.forename: Dara A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: O'Keeffe
authors.forename: Emmeline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nugent
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Doherty
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Traynor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007494:Ireland; D008297:Male; D012647:Self-Assessment; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires