Group Assessment of Resident Performance: Valuable for Program Director Judgment?

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Postgraduate Training
• Performance Assessment

Background:

• Group discussion is an emerging assessment method in postgraduate medical education.
• However, group decision-making does not guarantee better outcomes than individual assessments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the process of group meetings for resident performance assessment.
• To identify information shared during these meetings.
• To understand how these meetings influence program directors' judgments.

Main Methods:

• Observation of 10 faculty group meetings discussing resident performance in 2017.
• Interviews with program directors within one month post-meeting.
• Thematic framework analysis of transcribed meetings and interviews.

Main Results:

• Information sharing aimed at resident judgment and faculty development.
• Discussions were often unstructured, lacked written notes, and focused on residents with performance concerns.
• A lack of a shared mental model regarding resident performance was evident.
• Program directors benefited most when they perceived engagement and information summarization.

Conclusions:

• Unstructured discussions and a lack of shared mental models impede developmental assessment of resident performance.
• Structured discussions, equitable resident focus, and a shared mental model can enhance developmental assessment approaches.