Relationships between clinical competence ratings and examination performance

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physician Assistant Studies
• Clinical Competence Assessment

Background:

• Faculty evaluations are crucial for assessing medical trainees.
• The National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Certifying Examination evaluates physician assistant (PA) students.
• Understanding the link between faculty ratings and standardized exam performance is vital for curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between faculty ratings of clinical competence and PA student performance on the NBME Certifying Examination.
• To determine if faculty judgments align with objective measures of PA student competency.

Main Methods:

• A factor analysis was performed on a clinical competence rating form to identify distinct dimensions of faculty assessment.
• Statistical analyses, including simple correlations and multiple regression, were used to examine the relationships between identified rating factors and specific components of the NBME examination.

Main Results:

• Factor analysis revealed three discrete factors from the faculty clinical competence rating form.
• Four of the six NBME examination components showed significant, albeit modest, correlations with at least one faculty rating factor.
• Multiple regression analyses indicated complex associations between two examination components and the overall set of faculty rating factors.

Conclusions:

• Faculty members can make distinct judgments about students across multiple dimensions of clinical competence.
• These findings suggest that faculty evaluations capture meaningful aspects of student performance relevant to standardized assessments.
• The study highlights the potential utility of faculty ratings in predicting or understanding performance on high-stakes PA certification exams.