Facilitating the implementation of the American College of Surgeons/Association of Program Directors in Surgery phase III skills curriculum: training faculty in the assessment of team skills

Abstract

Background Effective teamwork is critical to safety in the operating room; however, implementation of phase III of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS) Curriculum that focuses on team-based skills remains worryingly low. Training and assessing the complexities of teamwork is challenging. The objective of this study was to establish guidelines and recommendations for training faculty in assessing/debriefing team skills. Methods A multistage survey-based consensus study was completed by 108 experts responsible for training and assessing surgical residents from the ACS Accredited Educational Institutes. Results Experts agreed that a program to teach faculty to assess team-based skills should include training in the recognition of teamwork skills, practice rating these skills, and training in the provision of feedback/debriefing. Agreement was reached that faculty responsible for conducting team-based skills assessment should be revalidated every 2 years and stringent proficiency criteria should be met. Conclusions Faculty development is critical to ensure high-quality, standardized training and assessment. Training faculty to assess team-based skills has the potential to facilitate the effective implementation of phase III of the ACS and APDS Curriculum.