Journal of Educational Evaluation for Health Professions, 2017/01, 141. doi: 10.3352/jeehp.2017.14.1, type of study: ,css,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Free full text   (https://www.jeehp.org/DOIx.php?id=10.3352/jeehp.2017.14.1)

Keywords:

Australia [175]
clinical competence [227]
cross sectional study [894]
osteopathic medicine [2109]
medical education [684]
reproducibility of results [16]
medical students [694]
reliability [164]

Abstract:

Clinical reasoning is situation-dependent and case-specific; therefore, assessments incorporating different patient presentations are warranted. The present study aimed to determine the reliability of a multi-station case-based viva assessment of clinical reasoning in an Australian pre-registration osteopathy program using generalizability theory. Students (from years 4 and 5) and examiners were recruited from the osteopathy program at Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia. The study took place on a single day in the student teaching clinic. Examiners were trained before the examination. Students were allocated to 1 of 3 rounds consisting of 5 10-minute stations in an objective structured clinical examination-style. Generalizability analysis was used to explore the reliability of the examination. Fifteen students and 5 faculty members participated in the study. The examination produced a generalizability coefficient of 0.53, with 18 stations required to achieve a generalizability coefficient of 0.80. The reliability estimations were acceptable and the psychometric findings related to the marking rubric and overall scores were acceptable; however, further work is required in examiner training and ensuring consistent case difficulty to improve the reliability of the examination.