Psychometric Characteristics of a Write-Up Assessment Form in a Medicine Core Clerkship

Abstract

Background: Case write ups are ubiquitous in medicine clerkships, yet few studies have examined how they are assessed. Purpose: To examine the feasibility, reliability, and validity of scores on a new write-up assessment form. Methods: In 2002, medicine core clerkship students (n = 165) submitted 3 patient write ups (n = 493). Each was graded using a 14-item form and given a Global Write-Up Assessment. Final Global Write-Up grades were correlated to National Board of Medical Examiners medicine subject exam scores and multiple clerkship ratings. Results: For most items on the form, the full 4-point rating range was used. The reproducibility coefficient was. 67 (SE =. 12). Final Global Write-Up grades were correlated with exam scores (r =. 35, p <. 05) and inpatient (r =. 28, p <. 05) and outpatient (r =. 16, p <. 05) course grades. Conclusions: The write-up assessment form, as used in a design with multiple write ups and raters, provides relatively precise estimates of performance and can be used to assess written documentation skills.