Development and validation of a professional behavior assessment

Allied health students must quickly socialize into a professional role as they transition from classroom to clinic. In addition to skill development, students must exhibit a host of professional behaviors that facilitate successful interaction with patients, families, and colleagues. There is a need for a valid, reliable assessment of professional behaviors that contribute to clinical competence. This study reports on the development and validation of a professional behavior assessment for occupational therapy students on a part-time clinical rotation (Level I). The Philadelphia Region Fieldwork Consortium (PRFC) Level I Student Evaluation was developed from an initial survey (n = 75) to generate an item pool, followed by a content review by a panel of experts (n = 5) to establish relevancy, clarity and content validity. This 12-item instrument was administered to 317 occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant students. A principal component factor analysis and item analysis was conducted. Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha) was 0.89, with intra-rater reliability for the 12 items ranging from 0.68 for "written communication" to 0.89 for "observation skills." The PRFC Level I Evaluation demonstrates discriminant validity, with students on their first clinical rotation scoring significantly (p < 0.001) lower than students on their third or fourth rotations, indicating a developmental process of professional socialization.