Entrustable professional activity assessment tool for clinical procedures: A psychometric study.

AIM AND OBJECTIVE

To test the psychometric properties of the entrustable professional activity assessment tool for clinical procedures to be administered to clinical trainers and students.

BACKGROUND

Students' ability to perform clinical procedures professionally and safely is a key concern for healthcare educators. The assessment of professional activities, in which entrustment is a key outcome, is crucial for determining the level of training and supervision of work-based assessments. The entrustable professional activities for clinical procedures (EPA-CP) have been used among clinical trainers, but it needs more psychometric testing.

DESIGN

The psychometric study used a cross-sectional design.

METHODS

Students' self-assessment (n = 302) and the supervisors' ratings on the students' performance in clinical procedures (n = 266) were used to evaluate the psychometric properties of the six-item EPA-CP assessment tool. Internal consistency and test-retest reliabilities of the assessment tool were examined. Convergent, known-groups, analysis of structural validity were conducted to investigate the tool's construct and factorial structure. The STROBE checklist for cross-sectional studies was followed.

RESULTS

The EPA-CP assessment tool demonstrated good reliability, satisfactory convergent validity and significant differences in the known-group comparison. The exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses indicated the cogent constructs of the assessment tool when administered to students and their supervisors.

CONCLUSION

The EPA-CP assessment tool is a valid, reliable and user-friendly tool for evaluating healthcare students' capability to perform clinical procedures. This tool makes it possible for the precise assessment of learners in performing procedures in busy and dynamic clinical settings.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Reliable instruments are needed to effectively assess healthcare students' ability to perform clinical procedures and enable trainers to entrust students with the tasks. The results indicate that the EPA-CP assessment is promising and may be used in the healthcare settings.