APGO

Background: Resident and faculty needs are important in guiding the educational agenda; studies demonstrate that these groups do not always agree on needs. A previously piloted 50-item needs assessment evaluating content areas of feedback, the 15 Ob-Gyn milestone procedures, and simulation was used to assess and compare faculty and resident needs.

Methods: The needs assessment was administered electronically to two academic Ob-Gyn residency programs (located in South Carolina and Texas) in June 2016; all items were ranked on a 5-point agreement scale. Equivalent versions were written to capture resident and faculty perceptions of the training program; results were anonymous and participation was voluntary.

Results: 42 surgical faculty (52.5%) and 47 residents (62.5%) completed the needs assessment; t-tests compared resident/faculty group differences. Both groups agreed on the adequacy of surgical content, however, faculty consistently self-reported delivering feedback at a significantly higher level than residents’ perceived receiving it (p < 0.05) for 8/16 feedback items.  Overall, both groups were least satisfied with training in breech vaginal delivery, 3rd/4th-degree laceration repair and operative vaginal delivery; residents were most satisfied with training in cesarean section while faculty were most satisfied with laparoscopy. Both groups agreed simulation can improve procedure performance; no significant differences existed. These findings were consistent between institutions although each institution’s levels of agreement differed for individual items.

Discussions: Although residents and faculty agree on areas of strengths and weaknesses, significant differences exist in perception of feedback delivery and reception.

Keywords: Assessment, Communication Skills, Curriculum Development/Evaluation, Milestones, Research Methods