Crowd-Sourced Assessment of Laparoscopic Surgical Skills for Ob/Gyn Residents

Importance Feedback is an essential part of graduate medical education. With increasing demands on time and fewer opportunities for formal feedback in residency, there is an increasing need for objective and actionable feedback. Objective To understand how the Crowd-Sourced Assessment of Technical Skills (CSATS) assessment of residents’ laparoscopic skills compares with the current faculty assessment in an obstetrics/gynecology residency program. Design, Setting, and Participants This was a prospective educational intervention study involving residents from a single academic obstetrics/gynecology residency program at a large tertiary teaching hospital. Individual performance videos of hysterectomies, myomectomies, and endometriosis resections were recorded and uploaded to the CSATS database where they were analyzed. Formal written feedback reports from the CSATS system were sent to the residents. Residents then completed a survey addressing satisfaction, timeliness, and utility of the CSATS feedback method overall and in comparison with the residency’s in-person feedback and with the standard written, electronic feedback evaluation. Results A total of 16 residents submitted 65 videos of operations. Overall comparison of CSATS vs faculty evaluation was equivalent. Residents found that CSATS response time was slower than receiving in-person feedback from faculty. When comparing CSATS with the standard feedback form, residents felt strongly that CSATS was superior for both surgical skill feedback and procedure evaluation, with both categories having a mean top score. When comparing low-volume CSATS utilization vs high-volume CSATS utilization, there were no statistical differences. Overall, residents reported high satisfaction with CSATS evaluation. Conclusions Residents were generally satisfied with CSATS as an overall feedback tool. CSATS could be a possible addition to help improve resident education.