The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Milestones in Integrated Plastic Surgery Programs: How Competency-Based Assessment Has Been Implemented.

BACKGROUND: The plastic surgery milestones are a central component of resident assessment. The authors performed a survey to evaluate how milestones have been implemented across integrated plastic surgery programs and how faculty perceive the Milestones Project has impacted their program. METHODS: A 25-question survey was directed to the head of the clinical competency committee of all 82 integrated plastic surgery programs through the American Council of Academic Plastic Surgeons. The survey queried the composition of the committee, how ratings are generated, and the data used in generating these ratings. RESULTS: Committee leaders from 57 programs (69.5 percent) responded to the survey. For most programs (73 percent), one faculty member completed milestone ratings for each resident and reviewed them with the residents. To determine milestone ratings, 92 percent utilized resident assessment after every rotation, and 63 percent utilized in-service examination scores. For documented resident assessment overall, 96 percent of programs assess residents after every rotation; 37 percent asses after every procedure. Feedback is most frequently provided to residents after every rotation (52 percent), rather than only during committee reviews (32 percent) or after every documented assessment (16 percent). Sixty-four percent of respondents did not believe that milestones have helped in the mentorship role. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of the milestones has varied among integrated plastic surgery programs. Structured training for core faculty directed to methods of assessment will make milestones a more effective a tool by which to improve resident evaluation and education. These findings provide a key data set by which to revise the milestones for their second iteration.