The Dutch residency educational climate test: construct and concurrent validation in Spanish language

To translate the 35-item version of the Dutch Residency Educational Climate Test (D-RECT), and assess its reliability, construct validity and concurrent validity in the Spanish language.

For this validation study, the D-RECT was translated using international recommendations. A total of 220 paper-based resident evaluations covering two Colombian universities were cross-sectionally collected in 2015. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to assess the internal validity of the instrument using the Comparative fit index (CFI), Tucker-Lewis index (TLI), Standardized root mean square residual (SRMSR), and Root mean square error of approximation (RMSA). Cronbach's α was used to assess reliability. The concurrent validity was investigated through Pearson correlations with the Spanish version of the Postgraduate Hospital Educational Environment Measure (PHEEM).

The original 9-factor structure showed an appropriate fit for the Spanish version of the instrument (CFI = 0.84, TLI = 0.82, SRMSR = 0.06, and RMSA = 0.06). The reliability coefficients were satisfactory (>0.70). The mean total scores of the D-RECT and the PHEEM showed a significant correlation (r = 0.7, p<0.01).

This study confirms the validity and reliability of the Spanish version of the Dutch Residency Educational Climate Test, indicating that the instrument is suitable for the evaluation of departments' learning climate in the Spanish context. Future research is needed to confirm these findings in other Spanish speaking countries.