'Reflection-Before-Practice' Improves Self-Assessment and End-Performance in Laparoscopic Surgical Skills Training

Objective To establish whether a systematized approach to self-assessment in a laparoscopic surgical skills course improves accordance between expert- and self-assessment. Design A systematic training course in self-assessment using Competency Assessment Tool was introduced into the normal course of evaluation within a Laparoscopic Surgical Skills training course for the test group ( n = 30). Differences between these and a control group ( n = 30) who did not receive the additional training were assessed. Setting Catharina Hospital, Eindhoven, The Netherlands ( n = 27), and GSL Medical College, Rajahmundry, India ( n = 33). Participants Sixty postgraduate year 2 and 3 surgical residents who attended the 2-day Laparoscopic Surgical Skills grade 1 level 1 curriculum were invited to participate. Results The test group ( n = 30) showed better accordance between expert- and self-assessment (difference of 1.5, standard deviation [SD] = 0.2 versus 3.83, SD = 0.6, p = 0.009) as well as half the number (7 versus 14) of cases of overreporting. Furthermore, the test group also showed higher overall mean performance (mean = 38.1, SD = 0.7 versus mean = 31.8, SD = 1.0, p n = 30). The systematic approach to self-assessment can be viewed as responsible for this and can be seen as “reflection- before -practice” within the framework of reflective practice as defined by Donald Schon. Conclusion Our results suggest that “reflection- before -practice” in implementing self-assessment is an important step in the development of surgical skills, yielding both better understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses and also improving overall performance.