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Scientific Oral Presentation

Professional and Personal Development

Assessing Mastoidectomy Skill Progression: Psychometric Performance of a 3d-printed Temporal Bone Model and Assessment Tool

Saturday, October 17, 2026
4:12 PM - 4:18 PM PT
Location: 404B

    Presenting Author(s)

  • EL

    Elizabeth N. Liao, MD

    Resident Physician
    University of Pittsburgh Medical Center - Medical Education Program
    Pittsburgh, PA, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • Vanessa Helou, MD

    Research Fellow
    University of Pittsburgh
    Pittsburgh, PA, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • NJ

    Noel Jabbour, MD

    Associate Professor of Otolaryngology
    UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Disclosure(s):
Elizabeth N. Liao, MD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Our three-dimensional printed temporal bone model has been previously validated to be able to differentiate between residents and faculty for mastoidectomies.

Methods: A total of 112 mastoidectomies were performed during regularly scheduled skills assessments over 4 academic years (26 by PGY1s, 26 by PGY2s, 29 by PGY3s, 21 by PGY4s, 10 by PGY5s). Each mastoid was scored by a previously validated final product analysis scale with 14 items, scored from 1-5 (overall score 0-70). Item discrimination score (IDS) determined accuracy at discriminating between individuals and was calculated by ranking mastoids from high to low overall score; grouping them into top, middle, and lower thirds; and then subtracting the averages between the low and high groups to obtain the IDS. The item-total correlation (ITC) determined precision and was the correlation coefficient of individual test items against the overall score.

Results: Previous data showed 45 as the cut off for competency. Median scores by PGY were: 37 (SD 21-52) for PGY1s, 41.5 (SD 37-56) for PGY2s, 51 (SD 37-65) for PGY3s, 57 (range 50-64) for PGY4s, and 63 (SD 58-68) for PGY5s. Mediator analysis demonstrated that PGY had a significant association with overall score (p < 0.005) that was not mediated by number of encounters with the model. For IDS (median 2.1, range 0.84-2.9), absence of drilling defects around ossicles (2.9), semicircular canals (2.8), and limits of mastoid at the posterior canal wall (1.8) were most effective at discriminating. For ITC (median 0.86, range 0.69-0.96), overall quality (0.96), drilling defects around ossicles (0.93), and depth of cavity (0.91) were most correlated with overall score.

Conclusions: Scores improved and variability decreased by PGY. Examining drilling defects around ossicles was the most effective and precise item in separating individuals with high and low scores. This model can be a tool to assess surgical competency for mastoidectomies.