Psychometric characteristics of a write-up assessment form in a medicine core clerkship.

BACKGROUND

Case write ups are ubiquitous in medicine clerkships, yet few studies have examined how they are assessed.

PURPOSE

To examine the feasibility, reliability, and validity of scores on a new write-up assessment form.

METHODS

In 2002, medicine core clerkship students (n = 165) submitted 3 patient write ups (n = 493). Each was graded using a 14-item form and given a Global Write-Up Assessment. Final Global Write-Up grades were correlated to National Board of Medical Examiners medicine subject exam scores and multiple clerkship ratings.

RESULTS

For most items on the form, the full 4-point rating range was used. The reproducibility coefficient was .67 (SE = .12). Final Global Write-Up grades were correlated with exam scores (r = .35, p < .05) and inpatient (r = .28, p < .05) and outpatient (r = .16, p < .05) course grades.

CONCLUSIONS

The write-up assessment form, as used in a design with multiple write ups and raters, provides relatively precise estimates of performance and can be used to assess written documentation skills.