To see ourselves as others see us: self-assessment in surgical residency

Abstract

PurposeAlthough self-assessment is a widely used educational technique, the value of self-evaluation in surgical residency has not been clearly defined. This study was undertaken to assess the ability of residents to evaluate themselves using the same standards as the surgical faculty and to determine how this information may be used in a surgical training program. MethodsCategorical surgical residents were asked to grade themselves (scale, 1–10) in 12 performance characteristics by completing the same forms used by the faculty for 3 quarterly evaluation periods. Mean faculty grades ± standard deviation were computed for each resident and compared with resident self-evaluation grades for a global rating scale and for specific performance characteristics. Comparisons were made by Pearson correlation analysis, analysis of variance, and Bonferroni’s multiple comparisons test with significance accepted at p < 0.05. ResultsA significant correlation (r = 0.47; p < 0.0098) was identified between faculty and resident in the global score and in the specific performance characteristics of knowledge (r = 0.51; p = 0.0052), clinical judgement (r = 0.48; p = 0082), and technical ability (r = 0.52; p = 0.0036). For residents who accurately estimated their scores, mean faculty score was 7.3 ± 0.64, which was significantly higher than the mean score in overestimators (6.4 ± 0.89; p < 0.05), which in turn was significantly lower than the mean score in underestimators (8.2 ± 0.58; p < 0.001). No significant correlation was obtained for ethical standards and interpersonal relationships or between PGY level and accuracy of self-evaluation. ConclusionsWhereas resident self-evaluations correlated positively with faculty ratings both globally and in certain performance categories, the majority of residents over- or underestimated their abilities. Information from such self-evaluations may be useful in counseling residents as well as in monitoring and improving the evaluation process.