The research of SIMPL initially focused on the administration of the SIMPL OR multi-institutional trial in General Surgery. Funded by the American Board of Surgery (ABS) and 14 academic medical centers across the United States we collected data on surgical resident operative performance evaluations between July 2015 and December 2016.

In April 2017 the data were shared with ABS and presented at the 137th annual meeting of the American Surgical Association. The main results of the study have been published in Annals of Surgery and can be found here.

In 2018 SIMPL convened representatives from the American Board of Surgery, the Association of Program Directors in Surgery, the Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education, and the Residency Review Committee for Surgery for a symposium to lay out a consensus General Surgery Quality Improvement "Road Map". The planned changes in post-graduate surgical education towards milestones, entrusted professional activities and proficiency assessment will require a reliable, convenient and valid platform to provide real-time assessments of workplace performance. 

As of 2021, we are proud to be actively supporting multi-site trials in General Surgery, Otolaryngology, Urology, Neurosurgery, and Emergency Medicine. Please contact us if you are interested in participating or leading any research.

Other recent publications by members of SIMPL demonstrate their commitment and expertise in the area of surgical performance assessment. Do not hesitate to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to join us in research that will improve the quality of medical education! 

Note: PLSC policy allows for a maximum of 10% indirect rates for any funding or funded research activities.