Measuring Clinical Preparedness After Residency Training: Development of a New Instrument

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Physician Preparedness

Background:

• Traditional assessments of physician preparedness for independent practice rely on surveys prone to bias.
• A novel approach is needed to objectively evaluate new graduates' readiness.

Approach:

• Conducted literature review and key informant interviews to identify indicators of preparedness.
• Convened a summit with experts to establish consensus on readiness indicators and survey strategies.
• Utilized 2015 entrustable professional activities for family medicine training as an assessment framework.

Key Points:

• Developed a novel assessment tool for new medical graduates' clinical preparedness.
• Employed physician and staff assessors evaluating graduates three months into their first job.
• Validated the assessment by comparing physician and staff assessor findings, showing internal consistency.

Conclusions:

• The novel assessment approach provides an objective measure of physician preparedness for independent practice.
• This method offers a more reliable evaluation of new graduates' readiness compared to traditional surveys.