Comments as part of a clinical competency rating system

Area of Science:

• Dental Education
• Clinical Competency Evaluation
• Medical Education Research

Background:

• Faculty comments supplement numerical ratings in clinical evaluations.
• The relationship between qualitative feedback and quantitative scores in dental education is understudied.
• Understanding faculty feedback provides insights into student performance assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the content and tone of faculty comments on student clinical performance.
• To investigate the association between faculty comments and numerical ratings.
• To identify patterns in faculty feedback within a dental competency evaluation system.

Main Methods:

• Developed a coding system for faculty comments on student clinical performance.
• Analyzed over 2200 coded comments and matched numerical ratings from multiple faculty and student cohorts.
• Examined comment distribution by performance area (dental, patient interaction, professional relationships) and tone (positive/negative).

Main Results:

• Comments primarily focused on patient interactions (43%) and dental performance (37%), with 48% being positive.
• Bidirectional associations were found between comments and scores for patient interactions.
• Unidirectional associations predominated for technical procedures and professional demeanor, suggesting comments address deviations from expectations.

Conclusions:

• Faculty feedback in dental education is multifaceted, covering performance, patient interaction, and professional conduct.
• The association between comments and scores varies by performance domain.
• Faculty comments may signal when students' performance deviates from assumed competency levels, particularly in technical and professional areas.