Abstract
Construct
This study investigates the validity of the Bahrain Defence Force instrument to assess professionalism, communication, and collaboration skills (BDF/PCC instrument) in medical graduates during their clerkship/intern years.
Approach
The instrument to assess professionalism, communication, and collaboration skills [BDF/PCC instrument] was developed based on an extensive literature review, other existing valid instruments, and expert opinion. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to support the construct validity. Twenty-five interns engaged in a multisource feedback evaluation for this study. Each participant was rated by eight individuals from each of the following categories: physicians, nurses, and fellow interns. Cronbach’s α was used to determine the questionnaire’s internal consistency and reliability.
Results
We report response rates (100 %), mean response time to complete each questionnaire (3.7 min), and the number of raters (seven to eight) needed to provide reliable results that support the feasibility of the survey. Reliability analysis using Cronbach’s α of internal consistency indicated that the full scale of the instrument had high internal consistency (Cronbach’s α 0.98). The instrument was found to be suitable for factor analysis (KMO = 0.941; Bartlett test significant, p < 0.001), which found that the data collected from the questionnaire could be grouped into three factors. These three factors represented 77.3 % of the total variance: professionalism, collaboration, and communication. The item-total correlation for this instrument was above 0.40 and showed homogeneity within each composite scale. The generalizability coefficients (Ep 2) were 0.79 for the surveys.
Conclusion
The BDF/PCC instrument to assess professionalism, communication, and collaboration skills is a feasible, reliable, and valid tool to assess physicians in their clerkship year. Testing the instrument on two occasions with a 1-year interval and the confirmatory factor analysis provided some evidence to support the concurrent and the construct validity of the BDF/PCC instrument.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Archer JC, Norcini J, Davies HA. Use of SPRAT for peer review of paediatricians in training. BMJ. 2005;330:1251–3.
Al Ansari A, Donnon T, Al Khalifa K, Darwish A, Violato C. The construct and criterion validity of the multisource feedback process to assess physician and performance: a meta-analysis. Advn in Med Educ & Reser. 2014;5:39–51.
Moonen-van Loon JM, Overeem K, Govaerts MJ, Verhoeven BH, van der Vleuten CP, Driessen EW. The reliability of multisource feedback in competency-based assessment programs: the effects of multiple occasions and assessor groups. Acad Med. 2015;8:1093–9.
Wood L, Hassell A, Whitehouse A, Bullock A, Wall D. A literature review of multi-source feedback systems within and without health services, leading to 10 tips for their successful design. Med Teach. 2006;28:e185–91.
Druskatt V, Wolff S. Effects and timing of developmental peer appraisals in self-managing work groups. J Appl Psychol. 1999;1:58–74.
Edwards M, Ewen A. 360 feedback: the powerful new model for employee assessment and performance improvement. New York: AMACOM; 1996.
Waldman D, Bowen D. The acceptability of 360° appraisals: a customer-supplier relationship perspective. Hum Resour Manag. 1998;2:117–29.
Van der Heijden BI, Nojhof AH. The value of subjectivity: problems and prospects for 360 degree appraisal systems. Int J Hum Resour Manag. 2004;3:493–511.
Brinkman WB, Geraghty SR, Lanphear BP, Khoury JC, del Rey Gonzalez JAG, DeWitt TG, Britto M. Effect of multisource feedback on resident communication skills and professionalism—a randomized controlled trial. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007;1:44–9.
Garra G, Wackett A, Thode H. Feasibility and reliability of a multisource feedback tool for emergency medicine residents. J Grad Med Educ. 2011;3:356–60.
Donnon T, Al Ansari A, Al Alawi S, Violato C. The reliability, validity, and feasibility of multisource feedback physician assessment: a systematic review. Acad Med. 2014;3:1–6.
Al Ansari A, Al Khalifa K, Al Azzawi M, Al Amer R, Al Sharqi D, Al-Mansoor A, et al. Cross-cultural challenges for assessing medical professionalism among clerkship physicians in a middle eastern country (Bahrain): feasibility and psychometric properties of multisource feedback. Advanc in Medi Educ and Pract. 2015;6:509–15.
Lockyer JM, Violato C, Fidler H. The assessment of emergency physicians by a regulatory authority. Acad Med. 2006;12:1296–303.
Violato C, Lockyer JM, Fidler H. Assessment of psychiatrists in practice through multisource feedback. Can J Psychiatr. 2008;8:525–33.
Van Thiel J, Van Dalen J, Ram P. MAAS Global Manual 2000. Maastricht: University Press; 2003.
Burt J, Elmore N, Campbell J, Roland M, Benson J, et al. Assessing communication quality of consultations in primary care: initial reliability of the global consultation rating scale, based on the Calgary-Cambridge guide to the medical interview. BMJ Open. 2014;4:e004339.
Archer J, Norcicni J, Davies H. Use of SPRAT for peer review of pediatricians in training. BMJ. 2005;330:1251–3.
Orchard CA, King GA, Khalili H, Bezzina MB. Assessment of interprofessional team collaboration scale (AITCS): development and testing of the instrument. J Contin Educ Heal Prof. 2012;1:58–67.
Violato C, Saberton S. Assessing medical radiation technologists in practice: a multi-source feedback system for quality assurance. Can J Med Radiat Technol. 2006;2:10–7.
Lockyer J, Violato C, Fidler H, Alakija P. The assessment of pathologists/laboratory medicine physicians through a multisource feedback tool. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2009;8:1301–8.
Renee L, Kiki L, Maas JH. Systematic evaluation of the teaching qualities of obstetrics and gynecology faculty: reliability and validity of the SETQ tool. PLos One. 2011. 6(5).
Streiner DL. Norman GR health measurement scales: a practical guide to their development and use. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2008.
Brennan RL. Generalizability theory, vol. 79. New York: Springer-Verlag; 2001. p. 441.
Shute VJ. Focus on formative feedback. Rev Educ Res. 2008;78:153–89.
Hawkins RE, Katsufrakis PJ, Holtman MC, Clauser BE. Assessment of medical professionalism: who, what, when, where, how, and … why? Med Teach. 2009;31:348–61.
Pulito AR, Donnelly MB, Plymale M, Mentzer Jr RM. What do faculty observe of medical students’ clinical performance? Teach Learn Med. 2006;18:99–104.
Mazor KM, Holtman MC, Shchukin Y, Mee J, Katsufrakis PJ. The relationship between direct observation, knowledge and feedback: results of a national survey. Acad Med. 2011;86:S63–8.
Dolmans DH, Wolfhagen IH, Heineman E, Scherpbier AJ. Factors adversely affecting student learning in the clinical learning environment: a student perspective. Educ Health (Abingdon). 2008;21:32.
Sargeant J. Reflecting upon multisource feedback as ‘assessment for learning’. Perspect Med Educ. 2015;4:55–6.
Sargeant J, Mann K, van der Vleuten C, Metsemakers J. Reflection: a link between receiving and using assessment feedback. Adv Health Sci Educ Theory Pract. 2009;3:399–410.
Miller A, Archer J. Impact of workplace based assessment on doctors’ education and performance: a systematic review. BMJ. 2010;341:c5064.
Sargeant JM, Mann KV, Ferrier SN, Langille DB, Muirhead PD, Hayes VM, et al. Responses of rural family physicians and their colleague and coworker raters to a multi-source feedback process: a pilot study. Acad Med. 2003;78:S42–4.
Sargeant J, Mann K, Ferrier S. Exploring family physicians’ reactions to multisource feedback: perceptions of credibility and usefulness. Med Educ. 2005;39:497–504.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
The research was approved by the research ethics committee in the BDF hospital. Written consent was obtained from the interns, and verbal consent was obtained from raters. The study was conducted between March 2014 and June 2015.
Competing Interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Financial Competing Interests
All authors declare that there are no financial competing interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Al Ansari, A., Agab, A.W., Al Sayed, S.D. et al. Multisource Feedback Tool for the Assessment of Medical Student Clerks in Professionalism, Communication, and Collaboration Skills. Med.Sci.Educ. 26, 609–616 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0311-2
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-016-0311-2