Enhancing Dermatology Residents' Self-Assessment Accuracy Through Training: An Interventional Study Using the...

Self-assessment is a key component of the formation and maintenance of clinical skills as well as a powerful type of formative assessment. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the mini-clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX) improved the accuracy of dermatology residents' self-assessments and their overall clinical performance.

Fifty-eight first- to fourth-year dermatology residents participated in this study in the outpatient clinic and during inpatient visits from 2021 to 2022. At the beginning of the study, each resident was assessed by two faculty members at the same time but independently and also filled out a self-evaluation test using the mini-CEX examination. After the intervention and feedback on the result of the assessment, the participants were reassessed.

After feedback and self-assessment training, the mean scores that the evaluators gave to the residents improved significantly in interview skills, examination and the mean score across all assessed domains (all p < 0.05). The score of self-assessment after the intervention had a significant increase in all seven categories of the mini-CEX test (all p < 0.05). Following the intervention, there was a greater correlation between the ratings of professors and residents, suggesting improved alignment in performance evaluation.

Training in self-assessment and providing feedback appear to significantly enhance dermatology residents' ability to assess their own performance. These improvements not only reflect skill acquisition but also show the importance of incorporating structured self-evaluation into residency programmes to promote clinical insight, lifelong learning and professional development across diverse medical specialties.