Ensuring Competency in Open Aortic Aneurysm Repair - Development and Validation of a New Assessment Tool.

Objective: The aims of this study were to develop a procedure specific assessment tool for open abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repair, gather validity evidence for the tool and establish a pass/fail standard.

Methods: Validity was studied based on the contemporary framework by Messick. Three vascular surgeons experienced in open AAA repair and an expert in assessment and validation within medical education developed the OPEn aortic aneurysm Repair Assessment of Technical Expertise (OPERATE) tool.