Development and validation of the Readiness to Train Assessment Tool (RTAT)

Area of Science:

• Healthcare education and training
• Organizational readiness assessment
• Health professions workforce development

Background:

• Health centers are increasingly training health professionals.
• Assessing alignment between training programs and health center priorities is crucial.
• A validated tool is needed to measure organizational readiness for health professions training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a survey measuring organizational readiness constructs for health professions training programs.
• To provide a tool for health centers to assess their capacity for implementing training programs.
• To identify necessary adjustments for successful training program implementation.

Main Methods:

• Developed a conceptual framework through literature review and expert validation.
• Generated and refined survey items through modified Delphi rounds with experts.
• Validated the survey structure using exploratory factor analysis and assessed reliability with Cronbach's alpha.

Main Results:

• A 41-item, 7-subscale survey, the Readiness to Train Assessment Tool (RTAT), was developed.
• Exploratory factor analysis explained 72% of the total variance.
• High internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha .79-.97) was demonstrated.

Conclusions:

• The RTAT is a theoretically-based, valid, and reliable tool for evaluating health center readiness for training programs.
• Readiness evaluations can enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of implementing health professions training.
• The RTAT may also be applicable to other healthcare organizations implementing educational programs.