Content validity of a trainer's report: summative assessment in general practice

Abstract

A structured trainer's report for use in summative assessment in general practice has been designed, and it is important that the content validity of this report is tested before it is widely adopted. The aim of this paper was to assess the content validity of a proposed report from the perspective of doctors who have recently completed vocational training. A postal questionnaire survey was sent out seeking the views of 220 doctors who had completed vocational training in 1994 as to whether or not the proposed contents were items that are needed in general practice, and whether or not the items were suitable for assessment by means of a trainer's report. The response rate was 73.3%. More than 85% of respondents agreed that the 31 items proposed for inclusion in the trainer's report were needed in general practice. While the proportions agreeing that the items were suitable for assessment by a trainer's report were considerably lower, for 26 items significantly more agreed that they were suitable than disagreed. Analysis of the freetext comments made by respondents illustrated their concerns. The results provide support for the content validity of this proposed trainer's report; however it is important that the concerns expressed are addressed.

Opening the black box: the patient mix of GP trainees

“…43 Although the present results suggest what is normally encountered, caution is advised, as the relation between patient mix and competence development is complex 44 and differs between individuals. …”

Summative assessment: a historical perspective

“…A more detailed trainer's report 7 was developed in the Oxford Region and this replaced the report used in the West of Scotland pilot.…”

The General Medical Council’s Performance Procedures: the development and implementation of tests of competence with examples from general practice

“…We have constructed an OSCE 17 (objective, structured clinical examination) for GPs based on the clinical skills required to commence independent practice 18 (Table 4). Marking schedules for the skills stations were based on some undergraduate stations and some developed for the GMC Professional and Linguistic Assessment Board (PLAB) test, which are set at the standard for a beginning SHO.…”