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Development of a written assessment for a national interprofessional cardiotocography education program.

ABSTRACT: To reduce the incidence of hypoxic brain injuries among newborns a national cardiotocography (CTG) education program was implemented in Denmark. A multiple-choice question test was integrated as part of the program. The aim of this article was to describe and discuss the test development process and to introduce a feasible method for written test development in general.The test development was based on the unitary approach to validity. The process involved national consensus on learning objectives, standardized item writing, pilot testing, sensitivity analyses, standard setting and evaluation of psychometric properties using Item Response Theory models. Test responses and feedback from midwives, specialists and residents in obstetrics and gynecology, and medical and midwifery students were used in the process (proofreaders n?=?6, pilot test participants n?=?118, CTG course participants n?=?1679).The final test included 30 items and the passing score was established at 25 correct answers. All items fitted a loglinear Rasch model and the test was able to discriminate levels of competence. Seven items revealed differential item functioning in relation to profession and geographical regions, which means the test is not suitable for measuring differences between midwives and physicians or differences across regions. In the setting of pilot testing Cronbach's alpha equaled 0.79, whereas Cronbach's alpha equaled 0.63 in the setting of the CTG education program. This indicates a need for more items and items with a higher degree of difficulty in the test, and illuminates the importance of context when discussing validity.Test development is a complex and time-consuming process. The unitary approach to validity was a useful and applicable tool for development of a CTG written assessment. The process and findings supported our proposed interpretation of the assessment as measuring CTG knowledge and interpretive skills. However, for the test to function as a high-stake assessment a higher reliability is required.

SUBMITTER: Thellesen L

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5437628 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Development of a written assessment for a national interprofessional cardiotocography education program.

Thellesen Line L Bergholt Thomas T Hedegaard Morten M Colov Nina Palmgren NP Christensen Karl Bang KB Andersen Kristine Sylvan KS Sorensen Jette Led JL

BMC medical education 20170518 1

<h4>Background</h4>To reduce the incidence of hypoxic brain injuries among newborns a national cardiotocography (CTG) education program was implemented in Denmark. A multiple-choice question test was integrated as part of the program. The aim of this article was to describe and discuss the test development process and to introduce a feasible method for written test development in general.<h4>Methods</h4>The test development was based on the unitary approach to validity. The process involved nati ...[more]

PMID: 28521768

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Project description:BackgroundThe current global pandemic has caused unprecedented strain on critical care resources, creating an urgency for global critical care education programs. Learning needs assessment is a core element of designing effective, targeted educational interventions. In theory, multimodal methods are preferred to assess both perceived and unperceived learning needs in diverse, interprofessional groups, but a robust design has rarely been reported. Little is known about the best approach to determine the learning needs of international critical care professionals.MethodWe conducted multimodal learning needs assessment in a pilot group of critical care professionals in China using combined quantitative and qualitative methods. The assessments consisted of three phases: 1) Twenty statements describing essential entrustable professional activities (EPAs) were generated by a panel of critical care education experts using a Delphi method. 2) Eleven Chinese critical care professionals participating in a planned education program were asked to rank-order the statements according to their perceived learning priority using Q methodology. By-person factor analysis was used to study the typology of the opinions, and post-ranking focus group interviews were employed to qualitatively explore participants' reasoning of their rankings. 3) To identify additional unperceived learning needs, daily practice habits were audited using information from medical and nursing records for 3 months.ResultsFactor analysis of the rank-ordered statements revealed three learning need patterns with consensual and divergent opinions. All participants expressed significant interest in further education on organ support and disease management, moderate interest in quality improvement topics, and relatively low interest in communication skills. Interest in learning procedure/resuscitation skills varied. The chart audit revealed suboptimal adherence to several evidence-based practices and under-perceived practice gaps in patient-centered communication, daily assessment of antimicrobial therapy discontinuation, spontaneous breathing trial, and device discontinuation.ConclusionsWe described an effective mixed-methods assessment to determine the learning needs of an international, interprofessional critical care team. The Q survey and focus group interviews prioritized and categorized perceived learning needs. The chart audit identified additional practice gaps that were not identified by the learners. Multimodal methods can be employed in cross-cultural scenarios to customize and better target medical education curricula.

Project description:BackgroundSeveral decades of work have detailed the value and goals of interprofessional education (IPE) within the health professions, defining IPE competencies and best practices. In 2013, the Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) elevated IPE to a U.S. medical school accreditation standard.ObjectiveTo examine the status of IPE within internal medicine (IM) clerkships including perspectives, curricular content, barriers, and assessment a year after the LCME standard issuance.DesignAnonymous online survey.ParticipantsIM clerkship directors from each of the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine's 121 U.S. and Canadian member medical schools in 2014.MethodsIn 2014, a section on IPE (18 items) was included in the Clerkship Directors in Internal Medicine annual survey of its 121 U.S. and Canadian member medical schools.Main measuresItems (18) assessed clerkship director (CD) perspectives, status of IPE curricula in IM clerkships, and barriers to IPE implementation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis of free-text responses to one of the survey questions.Key resultsThe overall survey response rate was 78% (94/121). The majority (88%) agreed that IPE is important to the practice of IM, and 71% believed IPE should be part of the IM clerkship. Most (76%) CDs agreed there is need for faculty development programs in IPE; 27% had such a program at their institution. Lack of curricular time, scheduling conflicts, and lack of faculty trained in IPE were the most frequently cited barriers. Twenty-nine percent had formal IPE activities within their IM clerkships, and 38% were planning to make changes. Of those with formal IPE activities, over a third (37%) did not involve student assessment.ConclusionsSince LCME standard issuance, only a minority of IM clerkships have included formal IPE activities, with lectures as the predominant method. Opportunities exist for enhancing educational methods as well as IPE faculty development.

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Development of a written assessment for a national interprofessional cardiotocography education program.

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Development of a written assessment for a national interprofessional cardiotocography education program.

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