title: The relationship between confidence and competence in the development of surgical skills.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Confidence is a crucial trait of any physician, but its development and relationship to proficiency are still unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between confidence and competency of medical students undergoing basic surgical skills training.
  
  
  METHODS
  Medical students completed confidence surveys before and after participating in an introductory workshop across 2 samples. Performance was assessed via video recordings and compared with pretraining and posttraining confidence levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 150 students completed the workshop over 2 years and were evaluated for competency. Most students (88%) reported improved confidence after training. Younger medical students exhibited lower pretraining confidence scores but were just as likely to achieve competence after training. There was no association between pretraining confidence and competence, but confidence was associated with demonstrated competence after training (p < 0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most students reported improved confidence after a surgical skills workshop. Confidence was associated with competency only after training. Future training should investigate this relationship on nonnovice samples and identify training methods that can capitalize on these findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Summa Akron City Hospital, Akron, Ohio. Electronic address: jclanton82@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jesse
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clanton
authors.affiliation: Austen BioInnovation Institute of Akron, Akron, Ohio.
authors.forename: Aimee
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, Ohio.
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.affiliation: Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, Ohio.
authors.forename: Logan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mellert
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Summa Akron City Hospital, Akron, Ohio.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Evancho-Chapman
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Summa Akron City Hospital, Akron, Ohio; Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio.
authors.forename: Richard L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: George
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003625:Data Collection; D004493:Education; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D014741:Video Recording
keywords: Patient Care; Practice-Based Learning and Improvement; Systems-Based Practice; competence; confidence; medical students; surgical education; surgical skills