Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill in assessing technical competence to carry out caesarean section with increasing seniority

Since the incorporation of workplace-based assessment within the specialty training programme in obstetrics and gynaecology, the assessment of technical competence to carry out caesarean section has been undertaken by the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill tool. This requirement has been formalised in the Matrix of Educational Progression, ensuring that the tool must assess trainees' technical competence in caesarean section procedures of varying levels of complexity throughout training. Trainee feedback suggests that the effectiveness of the tool diminishes as the seniority of the trainee increases, with technical competence assessed less effectively in more complex procedures. This seems to be a result of the generic design of the tool and insufficient training on the part of assessors. Both of these are due to be addressed within a division of the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skill tool into explicitly formative and summative assessments of technical skill, following a General Medical Council-led consultation on the future of workplace-based assessment.