Bridging the gap: The intersection of entrustability and perceived autonomy for surgical residents in the OR

Background

Faculty entrustment decisions affect resident entrustability behaviors and surgical autonomy. The relationship between entrustability and autonomy is not well understood. This pilot study explores that relationship.

Methods

108 case observations were completed. Entrustment behaviors were rated using OpTrust. Residents completed a Zwisch self-assessment to measure surgical autonomy. Resident perceived autonomy was collected for 67 cases used for this pilot study.

Results

Full entrustability was observed in 5 of the 108 observed cases. Residents in our study did not report full autonomy. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient identified that resident entrustability was positively correlated with perceived resident autonomy (ρ?=?0.66, p?

Conclusions

Resident entrustability is positively associated with perceived autonomy, yet full entrustability is not translating to the perception of full autonomy for residents.