Medical and audiology students need to be proficient in performing otoscopy in order to undertake the routine practice required of them at work upon graduation. One significant challenge in teaching otoscopy is the lack of objective and validated assessment tools to evaluate adequately. Guldager and colleagues’ study sets out to address this issue. The authors performed a triple round Delphi process to formulate the Copenhagen Assessment Tool for Handheld Otoscopy Skills (CATHOS), drawing on the expertise of nine established national otolaryngology educators. The validity of their 10-item assessment tool was then evaluated using 15 novices and 11 expert otolaryngologists, each being assessed performing two otoscopic examinations. The CATHOS demonstrated very good discriminative validity and internal consistency, indicating it might be a useful objective means of assessing otoscopy skills in trainees learning this important skill.
A new tool for assessing otoscopy skills
Reviewed by Lucy Dalton
Development and Validation of an Assessment Tool for Technical Skills in Handheld Otoscopy.
