Evaluation of inter-professional communication and leadership skills among graduating Canadian urology residents.

Abstract

The importance of developing inter-professional communication and leadership skills among residents is well-recognized; however, formal tools to assess these skills are lacking. The goal of our study was to assess the leader and communicator roles in graduating urology residents using a validated self-assessment form developed for business students that focuses on inter-professional skills. Chief residents (n=36) were evaluated with surveys of communication and leadership skills. The same surveys were administered through email to the residents' program directors (PDs). Resident self-assessment and PD assessment were compared using paired and non-paired t-tests. Graduating urology residents' self-assessment of their communication and leadership skills did not differ from assessments made by their PDs (77.6 vs. 74.4%; p=0.19); however, there were outlier candidates in whom PD assessment differed substantially from self-assessment on both surveys. Graduating urology residents scored themselves higher on self-awareness (82.6 vs. 77%; p= 0.05) and lower on stress management (67.7 vs. 77%; p= 0.01) compared to their PDs. Resident self-assessment scores were similar to business students on both communication and leadership surveys. Limitations were the small sample size and lack of survey evaluation by those surveyed. Graduating urology residents' self-assessment of their own communication and leadership skills did not differ greatly from assessment by their PDs or a sample of business students. Comparison of self-assessment evaluations and evaluations by PDs allowed us to identify outliers in whom self-assessment and PD-assessment markedly differed, which may allow for more focused and meaningful feedback.