Critiquing operative fracture fixation: the development of an assessment tool

Purpose Assessments are fundamentally important for training surgeons. Currently, there are no formal means of assessing operative fracture fixation. An assessment tool has been developed which can be used by trainers to critique the quality of a trainee’s operative fracture fixation. The tool is based on the AO principles of fracture management. The reliability and validity of the assessment were tested in a prospective study. Methods The assessment tool comprises of 4 domains focusing on the different factors pertinent to fracture fixation (reduction, stability, implant and overall impression). Reliability and validity were evaluated by asking 10 consultant trauma and orthopaedic surgeons to score 20 test cases on two different occasions at least 7 weeks apart. Internal consistency was assessed by Cronbach’s alpha. Inter-rater reliability and test–retest reliability were assessed by the inter-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and content validity by the content validity ratio (CVR). Results Cronbach’s alpha was 0.976, with all component criteria correlating well with each other. Total score inter-rater reliability, for a single assessor, as given by the ICC, was 0.708. Overall test–retest reliability was 0.961. The CVR for the assessment tool was 0.65 (which is above the critical value for establishing validity with 10 assessors). Conclusions Internal consistency is demonstrated by the excellent Cronbach’s alpha with substantial single assessor and excellent test–retest reliability also shown. The CVR above the critical value illustrates that the assessment is valid. The assessment tool has a number of applications within training and service evaluation that could benefit the global orthopaedic community.