An Assessment of Psychomotor Skills in Laparoscopy

Objective: this study aims at designing and validating an objective and practical assessment of psychomotor skills in laparoscopy. This assessment would allow a classification of the surgeons and residents by their psychomotor competence. Materials and methods: this study evaluated the psychomotor competence of three groups of voluntaries: experts (6 senior surgeons), residents (6 surgery residents), and novices (6 students of medical school). The assessment was performed at the Clinical Simulation Center in the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. The assessment was designed as a composition of eight different activities to be performed by each of the participants in a box trainer and using minimally invasive surgical instruments. The results were analyzed using an Anova and a Tukey’s test. Additionally, a validity test by evidence source and the assessment reliability was evaluated using a Cronbach’s alpha analysis. Results: three of the eight assessment’s activities correctly discriminated three study groups, and other two activities only discriminate two of the three groups. The validity of the assessment was positively evaluated using a content analysis, the response to the assessment, the internal structure and the possible future consequences of the assessment. The reliability of the assessment was considered excellent (Cronbach’s alpha=0,90). Conclusion: the propose assessment is a good alternative in formative processes of surgeons and allows to complement the traditional assessment method in surgery education.