Assessing the mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise in comparison to a national specialty examination

Authors: Hatala, Rose¹; Ainslie, Martha²; Kassen, BarryO¹; Mackie, Iain¹; Roberts, J Mark¹

Source: Medical Education, Volume 40, Number 10, October 2006 , pp. 950-956(7)

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Abstract:

Purpose

To evaluate the reliability and validity of the Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (mini-CEX) for postgraduate year 4 (PGY-4) internal medicine trainees compared to a high-stakes assessment of clinical competence, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Comprehensive Examination in Internal Medicine (RCPSC IM examination). Methods

Twenty-two PGY-4 residents at the University of British Columbia and the University of Calgary were evaluated, during the 6 months preceding their 2004 RCPSC IM examination, with a mean of 5.5 mini-CEX encounters (range 3-6). Experienced Royal College examiners from each site travelled to the alternate university to assess the encounters. Results

The mini-CEX encounters assessed a broad range of internal medicine patient problems. The inter-encounter reliability for the residents' mean mini-CEX overall clinical competence score was 0.74. The attenuated correlation between residents' mini-CEX overall clinical competence score and their 2004 RCPSC IM oral examination score was 0.59 (P = 0.01). Conclusion

By examining multiple sources of validity evidence, this study suggests that the mini-CEX provides a reliable and valid assessment of clinical competence for PGY-4 trainees in internal medicine.

Keywords: surgery/*education; *clinical clerkship; clinical competence/*standards; Canada

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2006.02566.x

Affiliations: 1: University of British Columbia, Canada 2: University of Calgary, Canada

Publication date: 2006-10-01