The performance of master surgeons on the Advanced Dundee Endoscopic Psychomotor Tester: contrast validity study.

HYPOTHESIS: The contrast validity of the Advanced Dundee Endoscopic Psychomotor Tester (ADEPT) was determined by comparing the performance of "master surgeons" with that of surgical trainees (also called junior surgeons) on the system. DESIGN: Twenty master surgeons and 20 junior surgeons were tested on the ADEPT system. The master surgeons, all of consultant grade, were recruited as established experts of national or international standing in laparoscopic surgery. The junior surgeons were participants of essential laparoscopic courses at the start of their higher surgical training. The ADEPT end points used in the study were instrument error, execution time, and task completion. An analysis of variance was used for the data analysis, with statistical significance set at.05. RESULTS: Master surgeons incurred a significantly lower instrument error rate than surgical trainees (P =.007), with no significant difference in execution time and the task completion score (P =.42 and P =.40, respectively). CONCLUSION: The ADEPT system has contrast validity because master surgeons completed the tasks more accurately without sacrificing execution time.