Supervisor-trainee continuity and the quality of work-based assessments

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Clinical Competency Assessment
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Work-based assessments (WBAs) are crucial for evaluating trainee competence in clinical practice.
• Concerns exist regarding the quality of WBAs completed by clinical supervisors.
• Fragmented supervisor-trainee interactions may hinder high-quality WBA completion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of supervisor-trainee continuity on the quality of daily encounter cards (DECs), a WBA.
• To examine the relationship between trainee performance and DEC quality.

Main Methods:

• DECs from three continuity groups (low, intermediate, high) were rated using the Completed Clinical Evaluation Report Rating (CCERR).
• Analysis of variance (ANOVA) compared mean CCERR scores across groups.
• Linear regression analyzed the link between resident performance and DEC quality.

Main Results:

• Continuity groups showed statistically significant but educationally minor differences in DEC quality.
• A significant inverse relationship existed between resident performance and DEC quality (r²=0.18).
• This inverse relationship was significant for on-service residents but not for off-service residents.

Conclusions:

• Supervisor-trainee continuity had no educationally meaningful effect on DEC quality.
• Resident performance influenced assessment quality for on-service trainees.
• DEC quality was poor for off-service residents, irrespective of performance, indicating a need for targeted improvements.