Assessing anaesthesiology and intensive care specialty physicians: An Italian language multisource feedback system

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Professionalism Assessment
• Anesthesiology

Background:

• Physician professionalism is crucial and requires continuous assessment during training and practice.
• Multi-source feedback (MSF) is a widely accepted method for assessing professionalism using input from various sources.
• MSF aids in both formative and summative evaluations to enhance clinical practice.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and psychometrically analyze multi-source feedback (MSF) questionnaires for postgraduate anesthesiology training in Italy.
• To evaluate the feasibility, reliability, and construct validity of the MSF instrument.
• To assess professionalism among residents in anesthesiology and intensive care.

Main Methods:

• Development and psychometric testing of four MSF questionnaires (self, medical colleague, coworker, patient).
• Study conducted with 64 residents in the Anesthesiology Residency Program at Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy.
• Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine construct validity.

Main Results:

• High response rates and ratings for medical colleague and coworker questionnaires, indicating feasibility and reliability.
• Self-assessment scores were generally high, with some variation.
• Patient questionnaires had a low return rate, limiting analysis, while coworker feedback indicated challenges with specific items.
• Factor analysis revealed a two-factor solution (clinical management, leadership, accountability) for colleague and coworker data, with high internal consistency.

Conclusions:

• A feasible and reliable Italian MSF instrument with construct validity was developed for self, coworker, and medical colleague assessments.
• Collecting patient feedback presented significant challenges in this specific setting.
• The developed MSF tool can be used for assessing professionalism in anesthesiology and intensive care training.