Construct and face validity of the American College of Surgeons/Association of Program Directors in Surgery laparoscopic troubleshooting team training exercise

Background: Our aim was to develop an objective scoring system and evaluate construct and face validity for a laparoscopic troubleshooting team training exercise.

Methods: Surgery and gynecology novices (n = 14) and experts (n = 10) participated. Assessments included the following: time-out, scenario decision making (SDM) score (based on essential treatments rendered and completion time), operating room communication assessment (investigator developed), line operations safety audits (teamwork), and National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Task Load Index (workload).

Results: Significant differences were detected for SDM scores for scenarios 1 (192 vs 278; P = .01) and 3 (129 vs 225; P = .004), operating room communication assessment (67 vs 91; P = .002), and line operations safety audits (58 vs 87; P = .001), but not for time-out (46 vs 51) or scenario 2 SDM score (301 vs 322). Workload was similar for both groups and face validity (8.8 on a 10-point scale) was strongly supported.

Conclusions: Objective decision-making scoring for 2 of 3 scenarios and communication and teamwork ratings showed construct validity. Face validity and participant feedback were excellent.