Assessment of Enhanced Skills in Operative Obstetrics, Anesthesia & Intrapartum Maternity

Over the past year, ASAP has built upon the success of the Practice Ready Assessment BC program, leading the country in the development of assessment pathways and criteria for enhanced surgical skills. The steering committee, co-chaired by Drs. Nancy Humber and Kevin Brown, and comprised of Drs. John Pawlovich, Tina Webber, Dietrich Furstenburg, Glenn Fedor, Kelsey Louie, Corinne De Bruin, Jack Burak, and Onuora Odoh, collaboratively progressed ASAP’s work.

Throughout the year, the ASAP team continued its work in identifying suitable urban and rural assessment locations, as well as high-quality expert assessors, in both high-volume urban tertiary, and rural regional sites. These connections will be further refined in the coming year.

The team also developed a competency-based assessment framework in collaboration with medical leads for Practice Ready Assessment and Category 1 programs. This framework will evaluate IMGs’ scope and currency of practice in identified disciplines. Templates for low- and high-risk obstetrics were also developed, along with a privileging dictionary list.

ASAP also developed the assessment pathway and established an Assessment and Evaluation Committee throughout the course of the year. This Committee will review and make a final determination on candidates’ skills.

The team completed screening criteria for applicants seeking assessment. It also held ongoing discussions to identify opportunities for program monitoring to determine its effectiveness, which is still under development.

Finally, the ASAP Steering Committee began preparing a detailed funding proposal for the project to the Joint Standing Committee on Rural Issues. The proposal outlines program components, including governance, structure, five-year budgetary requirements, key partners, functions, and an evaluation plan. This proposal will be submitted in 2021.

In the coming year, ASAP will also solidify relationships with sites that will be involved in the initiative and, following approval of its proposal, will officially launch.