Objectives: This research examined the effects of multiple combined competency-based methods in an adult cardiac Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredited diagnostic medical sonography program on clinical and didactic scores. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental nonequivalent group research design was used to evaluate students enrolled in an adult cardiac CAAHEP accredited echocardiography curriculum. Their cumulative final examination and clinical competency evaluation scores from multiple cohorts (pre- and post-intervention) were used for statistical analyses. Results: There were no significant differences between multiple competency-based assessments and didactic or clinical scores but unveiled reasons that coincide with the literature, such as nonvalid and subjective clinical assessment. Conclusion: These results suggest further evaluation of the credentialing process to ensure clinical competency.
Objective: This research examined the effects of multiple combined competency-based methods on sonography students’ perceptions of adult echocardiography training components. In addition, clinical preceptor evaluation scores were compared with faculty objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) scores. Materials and Methods: A quasi-experimental nonequivalent group research design was used to evaluate students enrolled in an adult cardiac Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) accredited curriculum. Students’ perceptions pre and post multiple competency-based methods (formative assessment, OSCE, & simulation) intervention were recorded via course evaluations. Questions were analyzed individually using descriptive statistics and the Bonferroni correction. Students’ clinical evaluation and OSCE scores were analyzed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Results: The majority of students’ perceptions pre- and postintervention of multiple competency-based assessments demonstrated significant differences, or they primarily agreed that their echocardiography knowledge or skill set was enhanced. There was weak correlation between students’ clinical competency evaluation scores and OSCE scores—post implementation of multiple competency-based assessments, rs(37) = −.01, P = .93. Conclusion: These results suggest further evaluation of the credentialing process’s clinical assessment to ensure clinical competency.
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