Integrating the NAS Milestones and Handheld Technology to Improve Residency Training and Assessment

ObjectiveTo incorporate the use of an intuitive and robust assessment tool in conjunction with the Next Accreditation System Milestones to maximize opportunities for trainee performance feedback and continuous trainee assessment, with the long-term goal of increasing the rate of performance improvement and mastery of knowledge and surgical skills.DesignPilot study.SettingJohns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Primary, tertiary, and quaternary clinical care; institutional environment.ParticipantsExperimental group: two randomly selected postgraduate year-1 integrated training program residents per year for 2 consecutive years from the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Control group: traditionally trained residents from the integrated training program in the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Study duration: 7 years (until residents complete residency training).Anticipated ResultsThis assessment strategy would create large amounts of informative data on trainees, which can be cross-referenced to determine trainee progress. Assessment data would be collected continuously from all faculty surgeons. Comparisons of faculty and resident self-assessments would facilitate resident evaluations. Ease of use of the data collection structure would improve faculty evaluation compliance and timely resident case report completion.ConclusionsImproving the efficiency and efficacy of competency documentation is critical. Using portable technologies is an intuitive way to improve the trainee assessment process. We anticipate that this 2-pronged approach to trainee assessments would quickly provide large amounts of informative data to better assess trainee progress and inform Milestone assessments in a manner that facilitates immediate feedback. Assessments of faculty and resident satisfaction would help us further refine the assessment process as needed. If successful, this format could easily be implemented by other training programs.Applicable Project AreaInnovations in Surgical Education: Milestones     

Is Our Residency Program Successful? Structuring an Outcomes Assessment System as a Component of Program Evaluation

ObjectiveIn an attempt to better define the success of our residency program with regard to resident development, we committed to develop an ongoing assessment of residency performance and devised an outcomes assessment system.DesignWe describe the process and structure that we used to construct an outcomes assessment system. We discuss the process we used to discern whether or not our program is successful as well as offer tips on what data to collect and track should other residency programs decide to devise a similar outcomes assessment database.ConclusionTaking time to “step back” to take inventory of a residency program and ensure year over year and at the end of training residents have developed and matured as planned is an educationally sound practice. Structuring an outcomes assessment system like the one that we discuss here can aid program directors with this important task.