Cardiology trainees' attitudes towards clinical supervision: a scale development study

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Psychometrics
• Cardiology Training

Background:

• Effective clinical supervision is crucial for cardiology trainees' development.
• Existing tools may not adequately capture trainees' attitudes towards supervision.
• A validated scale is needed to measure cardiology trainees' perceptions of clinical supervision.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Cardiology Clinical Supervision Scale (CCSS).
• To assess the construct validity, dimensionality, and internal consistency of the CCSS.
• To provide a reliable instrument for evaluating clinical supervision in cardiology training.

Main Methods:

• A multi-centred, cross-sectional study of 388 Indonesian cardiology trainees.
• Exploratory factor analysis (principal axis factoring) was used to determine scale dimensionality.
• Content validity was assessed by clinical experts, and internal consistency by Cronbach's alpha.

Main Results:

• The final 27-item Cardiology Clinical Supervision Scale (CCSS) demonstrated good content validity (G-coefficient=0.71).
• Exploratory factor analysis identified two factors: "Supervisory Interaction and Facilitation" (SIF) and "Role Modelling" (RM).
• Both factors exhibited high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha for SIF=0.93, RM=0.89).

Conclusions:

• The CCSS is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring cardiology trainees' attitudes towards clinical supervision.
• The scale's two-factor structure (SIF and RM) provides insights into key aspects of effective supervision.
• Further research is recommended to establish cross-cultural validity and other psychometric properties of the CCSS.