title: Multicenter longitudinal assessment of resident technical skills.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our aim was to report the longitudinal assessment of technical performance of general surgery residents on select tasks from multiple programs over a 2-year period.
  
  
  METHODS
  An institutional review board-approved, multi-institutional collaborative study was undertaken with yearly resident performance assessments over a 3-year period. General surgery residents (postgraduate year [PGY] 1 to 5) were tested on 3 laparoscopic and 5 open simulated surgical tasks. Resident performance was compared individually over time and among interns and more senior residents.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-one residents from 4 residency programs were evaluated. Scores increased in all tasks with each assessment, plateauing at a lower PGY level for open tasks compared with laparoscopic tasks. Change in performance scores between assessments were higher for interns compared with more senior residents (P < .003).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Resident performance on basic open and laparoscopic tasks assessed over time improved the most between the PGY 1 and 2 levels and was dependent on task difficulty. This documented skill evolution may allow tailoring of skills curricula to both meet existing needs and minimize performance variability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Carolinas Simulation Center, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC. Electronic address: dimitrios.stefanidis@carolinashealthcare.org.
authors.forename: Dimitrios
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stefanidis
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Carolinas Simulation Center, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, LSU Health New Orleans School of Medicine, New Orleans, LA.
authors.forename: John T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Paige
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Korndorffer
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Lahey Clinic, Tufts Medical School, Burlington, MA.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nepomnayshy
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Carolinas Simulation Center, Carolinas HealthCare System, Charlotte, NC.
authors.forename: Devin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chapman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013502:General Surgery / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000193:education*; D059032:Learning Curve; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014481:United States
keywords: Learning curve; Performance assessment; Performance norms; Simulation; Skills training; Surgery residents