Development of assessing generic and specific technical skills in laparoscopic surgery.

BACKGROUND: Assessing live laparoscopic surgery using structured methodology is still in its infancy; however, it removes bias and subjectivity. We critique a new assessment tool for technical skills in laparoscopic surgery.
METHODS: A hierarchical task analysis was done for laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), and a global assessment for generic and specific technical skills for LC was developed. Two experienced surgeons with >12 years of postgraduate experience assessed 50 full-length LC operations blindly and independently.
RESULTS: Five consultant/attending and 4 registrar/resident surgeons were recruited. Interrater reliability was k = 0.86 and k = 0.84 (P < .05) for generic and specific technical skills, respectively. Mean time for consultants was 32 minutes (range 15 to 70) and for registrars was 53 minutes (range 20 to 90). Parametric Student t test analysis was significant for time between the 2 groups, P < .05. Nonparametric analysis of variance between the 2 groups for generic and specific technical skills was significant at P < .05.
CONCLUSIONS: This assessment tool for live laparoscopic surgery may have face, content, concurrent, construct, and predictive validities for generic and specific technical skills. We aim to continue the study and expand assessment to other surgical techniques.