Assessment of the Educational Value of Mock Oral Competency Exams for Surgical Interns.

Abstract

Introduction: Limited data exist regarding mock oral competency exams (MOCEs) and their impact on junior surgery residents, who are commonly assessed with written posttest exams. The COVID-19 pandemic also affected surgical education. Therefore, we evaluated interns' perceived impact of MOCEs, including satisfaction compared with written posttest exams and the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: From 2017 through 2022, surgery interns participated in MOCEs consisting of two clinical scenarios per intern. Participants completed surveys evaluating the perceived impact of MCOEs using 5-point ordinal scales and yes/no responses. A positive response was defined as good, slightly better, excellent, significantly better, or yes.

Results: Fifty-nine of 73 interns (80.8%) completed the survey; 54 (91.5%) reported that MOCEs provided an improved review of material compared with written posttest exams. This correlated with average positive ratings indicating MOCEs were a valued educational activity (98.3%), a personal challenge (89.8%), a dynamic quality teaching method (93.2%), beneficial through observation of colleagues' examinations (94.9%), and an improvement in knowledge and application of didactic material (84.7%) (Spearman ρ = 0.44, P < .001). The postpandemic cohort (N = 23) rated MOCEs as more valuable than the prepandemic cohort (n = 36) (mean 4.7 ± 0.4 vs mean 4.3 ± 0.5, P  = .004, Cohen d = 0.80).

Conclusions: MOCEs may serve as an effective tool for applying knowledge during the formative years of surgical training. Interns affected by COVID-19 reported higher perceived benefits, potentially reflecting increased importance of competency-based and in-person education. MOCEs warrant further study and may be valuable to incorporate early in residency training.