Building Autonomy in Surgical Residency

Learning Objectives:

• Upon completion, participants will be able to identify the key challenges in balancing resident autonomy with the need for structured supervision and standardized training outcomes.
• Upon completion, participants will be able to explore how performance variance among surgeons affects patient outcomes and costs, and discuss potential causes for this variance.
• Upon completion, participants will be able to discuss the application of process mapping in measuring resident autonomy and its limitations, particularly regarding the reliance on time as a performance metric.
• Upon completion, participants will be able to define and differentiate between validity (accuracy) and reliability (precision) in the context of evaluating resident autonomy, including how these metrics can improve the consistency of surgical education.
• Upon completion, participants will be able to explore how the Zwisch scale and other tools can be used to reduce performance variance in residents, and propose strategies for improving autonomy measurement.