Sravanthi Koduri, MD, David B. Altshuler, MD, MS, Siri Sahib S. Khalsa, MD, Cormac O. Maher, MD, Greg Wnuk, MHSA, Doris Tong MD, MSc, FRCPC, Brian C. George, MD, MA, Nicholas Szerlip, MD
World Neurosurgery, June 2020
Abstract
Background
Feedback is a major component of any educational process. Competency assessment and feedback are essential tools for teaching surgical skills. Most current systems of assessment within neurosurgical residency programs use evaluations aggregated over a period of time, which lead to significant bias, rather than case-specific feedback. The authors describe the use of a mobile device application called SIMPL (System for Improving and Measuring Procedural Learning) to allow for immediate surgical competency assessment and improve the quality of feedback following every operative experience.
Methods
We retrospectively assessed our use of this program and neurosurgery residents’ response to the program. Institutional Review Board approval was not required, and no patients were involved in the study. This application has already been implemented within general surgery programs with promising results. We document its implementation in a neurosurgery program and the output of the program for residents and program directors.
Results
This is the first documentation of such an application within a neurosurgical residency program. In a 6-month period at one single institution, around 300 evaluations were completed by residents and faculty with greater than 80% response rate within both groups. Furthermore, these evaluations were companied by a 60% dictation rate from faculty, which contains verbal feedback that is available to residents for playback at any time.
Conclusions
The phone-based SIMPL application allows for assessment of surgical competency while remaining quick and easy to use, giving it the potential to improve individual neurosurgical training experiences across the country.
Full Text: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878875020303247