A Novel Approach to Assessing Professionalism in Preclinical Medical Students Using Multisource Feedback Through...

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Professionalism Assessment
• Physician Development

Background:

• Professionalism is crucial for physicians, but assessments often occur late in training.
• Current methods leave a gap in early student assessment portfolios and professional development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the alignment of self- and peer assessments of professionalism in preclinical medical students.
• To identify potential at-risk students through early, multisource feedback.

Main Methods:

• 246 second-year medical students completed self- and peer assessments in Team-Based Learning courses.
• Correlation and regression analyses examined assessment alignment; subgroup stability was assessed over time.
• Missing data analysis explored nonparticipation effects on peer assessment scores.

Main Results:

• Weak correlation found between self-assessments and peer assessments (ρ = .13 to .21).
• Self-assessments predicted later self-assessments, but peer assessments did not predict self-assessments.
• A subgroup consistently rating themselves higher than peers, and those not completing assessments, may be at risk.

Conclusions:

• Simultaneous self- and peer assessments can identify preclinical students with potential professionalism concerns.
• This approach offers early identification of at-risk students, enabling timely intervention.
• Perceptual stability of professionalism behaviors can be measured using this novel multisource feedback tool.