title: The assessment of surgical skills as a complement to the training method. Revision.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The acquisition and improvement of surgical skills constitute a fundamental element in the training of any practitioner. At present, however, the assessment of these skills is a scarcely developed area of research. The aim of this study was to analyse the peculiarities of the various assessment systems and establish the minimum criteria that a skills and knowledge assessment system should meet as a method for assessing surgical skills in urological surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Scientific literature review aimed at the various currently available assessment systems for skills and competencies (technical and nontechnical), with a special focus on the systematic reviews and prospective studies.
  After conducting the review, we found that the various assessment systems for surgical competence have, in our opinion, a number of shortcomings. There is a certain degree of subjectivity in the assessment of surgeons by the evaluators. The assessment of nontechnical competencies is not formally recorded. There is no description of a follow-up assessment or any basic parameters associated with healthcare quality. There is no registration of associated competencies associated with the various surgical techniques. There is also no ranking of these competencies and the specific peculiarities for their application.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We believe that the development of a new assessment system for surgical competencies (technical and nontechnical) aimed at assessing urologists in the various surgical techniques is necessary. To this end, our team has worked on developing the Evaluation System for Surgical Competencies on Laparoscopy, which is based on the definition, ranking and assessment of competencies demonstrated by surgeons.
authors: Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, Cáceres, España. Electronic address: jsanchez@ccmijesususon.com.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Sánchez-Fernández
authors: Servicio de Urología, Hospital San Juan de Dios del Aljarafe, Sevilla, España.
authors: J
authors: J
authors: Bachiller-Burgos
authors: Servicio de Urología, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, España.
authors: Á
authors: Á
authors: Serrano-Pascual
authors: Servicio de Urología, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Granada, Granada, España.
authors: J M
authors: JM
authors: Cózar-Olmo
authors: Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, Cáceres, España.
authors: I
authors: I
authors: Díaz-Güemes Martín-Portugués
authors: Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, Cáceres, España.
authors: F J
authors: FJ
authors: Pérez-Duarte
authors: Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, Cáceres, España.
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Hernández-Hurtado
authors: Servicio de Urología, Hospital Universitario Puerta del Mar, Cádiz, España.
authors: J L
authors: JL
authors: Álvarez-Ossorio
authors: Centro de Cirugía de Mínima Invasión Jesús Usón, Cáceres, España.
authors: F M
authors: FM
authors: Sánchez-Margallo
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000592:standards*; D013520:Urologic Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Assessment; Competencias; Competencies; Evaluación; Evaluation System for Surgical Competencies on Laparoscopy; Formación; Habilidades; Skills; Training