Surgical competence in general surgery assistance: a brief report

The training and education of competent and qualified surgeons have been one of the challenges of the surgical profession. The concept of surgical competence has been affected widely due to a series of developments in the new disease emergence, various surgical techniques and the introduction of advanced tools and equipment into the operating. The development of surgical competence and achieving this goal requires accurate identification and analysis of the dimensions of competence. This study was done to explain the concept of surgical competence using the 8-step Walker and Avant approach.

This study is a qualitative study that was conducted from May- October 2016 at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The present study is a qualitative and conceptual analysis study, which is done with Walker&Avant's eight-step approach to determine the defining characteristics of the concept of surgical competence. A systematic search was conducted between 1990 and 2020 by keywords search such as surgery, surgical, operation OR laparoscopy AND competence competency development competency proficient, proficiency, expertise, clinical, in the database like Google Scholar, PubMed, SID, Magiran, Scopus, Web of Science. Twenty articles were included in the study based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Moreover, the defining features of the concept were extracted from it.

Based on the results of this study, the concept of surgical competence was defined and the four dimensions of elements, goals, components and the process of developing surgical competence were identified. Then, by clarifying the characteristics of surgical competence, a model of surgical competence development was drawn. Surgical competence development depends on the acquisition of specialized knowledge and numerous skills that are acquired through experience and deliberated practice under the supervision of others in the surgical community of practice and over time.

Surgical competence is a set of observable and measurable skills that allows a surgeon to manage the surgical process independently pbt while maintaining the patient's safety. It includes specialized knowledge, communication skills, cognitive and technical skills, and basic surgical skills.