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

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

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

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.

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.

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.